By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — The Vatican approved new statutes and bylaws for the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious, ending a seven-year process of investigating the group and engaging in dialogue with its officers to ensure greater harmony with church teaching.

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders’ founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — The final report of a five-year, Vatican-ordered study of communities of women religious in the United States will be released by the Vatican Dec. 16. The top two officials of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic …

By Catholic News Service  WASHINGTON — The recent rebuke of the officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious by the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office should be viewed as one part of his entire remarks and one aspect of the group’s visits and ongoing dialogue with Vatican officials, …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — Using what he acknowledged was unusually “blunt” language, the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office rebuked officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for honoring a Catholic theologian whose work was judged “seriously inadequate” and for promoting futuristic ideas …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis reaffirmed the Vatican’s call for reform of the U.S.-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the U.S.-based nuns’ group that he had “recently discussed the …