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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Vatican, American Nuns and the Politics of Healthcare Reform

    A leadership group of American nuns supports President Obama's healthcare reform , even though the US Conference of Bishops call it a threat to religious liberty. Now the nuns say they're "stunned" by blistering criticism and threats of de-certification by the Vatican for what it calls "doctrinal problems" and "radical feminist themes."

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    A leadership group of American nuns supports President Obama's healthcare reform, even though the US Conference of Bishops call it a threat to religious liberty. Now the nuns say they're "stunned" by blistering criticism and threats of de-certification by the Vatican for what it calls "doctrinal problems" and "radical feminist themes." When they went to Rome to confront Cardinal William Levada, the former Bishop of San Francisco, who's leading the the crackdown, he called it a "dialogue with the deaf." But the nuns aren't backing down. Are American Catholics caught in a battle between religious obedience and partisan politics?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Vatican Cracks Down on Nuns and Obama's Healthcare Plan
    1. 0:00Obama Announces Immigration Policy Change
    2. 7:35The Vatican, American Nuns and the Politics of Healthcare ReformYou’re reading this
    3. 42:54New Policy Offers Relief for Illegal Immigrant Youth
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Gideon Brower

      Independent Producer

    • KCRW placeholder

      John Allen

      Boston Globe

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sister Simone Campbell

      NETWORKLobby member; leader of Nuns on the Bus

    • KCRW placeholder

      Stephen White

      Ethics and Public Policy Center

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Vatican Cracks Down on Nuns and Obama's Healthcare Plan
    1. 0:00Obama Announces Immigration Policy Change
    2. 7:35The Vatican, American Nuns and the Politics of Healthcare ReformYou’re reading this
    3. 42:54New Policy Offers Relief for Illegal Immigrant Youth
    Back to To the Point