Denver, Colo., May 1, 2012 / 09:08 am
Reaction to the Vatican’s announced reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) took form on the social media site Twitter, where efforts to show support for religious sisters dueled with the group's critics.
Fr. James Martin, S.J., an editor for America magazine, launched a Twitter hashtag “#WhatSistersMeanToMe” to show appreciation for all religious sisters on the microblogging site where 140-character text messages and popular tags can spread with rapidity.
“Catholic sisters teach me what it means to persevere without the benefit of institutional power,” he tweeted April 19.
“Framing things in that way, I thought, meant that people could show their gratitude for sisters, and read other messages of support, without being in any way negative. No need to be anti-Vatican or anti-bishop or anti-anything. Just pro-sister,” he said in an April 26 Washington Post column reflecting on what came next.