[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Bishop J. Strickland [@BishStrickland](/creator/twitter/BishStrickland) on x 250.4K followers Created: 2025-07-24 19:36:24 UTC July 24, 2025 THE CLOISTERED CRY: DEFENDING THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CHURCH There is a sacred power in silence. There is a shield in hidden prayer. And for centuries, the Church’s contemplative orders – especially cloistered women religious – have held that shield high. They have defended the Church not with policies or protest, but with lives utterly given to Christ in solitude, sacrifice, and ceaseless intercession. Now, that shield is under siege – from within the Church herself. The article, “Why is the Vatican Assailing Contemplative Life?” (Crisis Magazine), brings into the light what many faithful Catholics have quietly discerned for years: an active dismantling of contemplative life through documents like Cor Orans, which impose forced federations, revoke autonomy from flourishing communities, and penalize the very silence and enclosure that define the vocation. More than XX monasteries in Italy closed within a week of these mandates. In the United States, faithful Carmelite sisters are under pressure simply for desiring to remain who they are: brides of Christ, faithful to their charism, devoted to prayer, silence, and sacrifice. This is not reform. It is erosion. To treat these holy women – who have labored in silence for the salvation of the world – as relics of a bygone age is to forget who holds up the Church’s arms in the battle. As Moses was upheld by Aaron and Hur on the mountain, the Mystical Body of Christ is upheld by these hidden warriors of prayer. As Jeremy Tate recently observed: “Until the late 1960’s, priests and nuns were everywhere – schools, hospitals, city streets. Their habits and collars were walking sermons.” Now, in many places, their presence has nearly vanished – not because the Church no longer needs them, but because the Church has stopped defending them. We have allowed modernity to rob us of our sacred signs. We have traded holiness for efficiency, silence for activism, and contemplation for committees. Let me say clearly: Contemplative life is not obsolete. It is essential. Cloistered sisters are not irrelevant They are the beating heart of the Church. When the world spins into confusion, it is the cloister that remains still before the Face of God. When bishops fall silent and shepherds scatter, these women remain faithful – behind the grille, before the Blessed Sacrament, beside the Cross. They do not ask for platforms. They do not seek recognition. But they deserve our protection. To the Holy Father and the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, I beg you: Listen to these sisters. Let them live their vocations without interference. Honor their autonomy. Defend their charisms. Trust their discernment. And stop silencing the most faithful daughters of the Church. And to the faithful: If you want to save the Church, defend the cloister. Support these women with your prayers, your voices, and your material aid. Do not allow their monasteries to be shuttered, their vocations suppressed, or their way of life restructured out of existence. When the final battle comes – as Our Lady of Fatima foretold – it will be the pure, the hidden, and the faithful who will hold the line. Let us not wait until the last cloister is empty to realize what we have lost. Bishop Joseph E. Strickland  XXXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [christ](/topic/christ) [women](/topic/women) [Post Link](https://x.com/BishStrickland/status/1948467318322823465)
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Bishop J. Strickland @BishStrickland on x 250.4K followers
Created: 2025-07-24 19:36:24 UTC
July 24, 2025
THE CLOISTERED CRY: DEFENDING THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CHURCH
There is a sacred power in silence. There is a shield in hidden prayer. And for centuries, the Church’s contemplative orders – especially cloistered women religious – have held that shield high. They have defended the Church not with policies or protest, but with lives utterly given to Christ in solitude, sacrifice, and ceaseless intercession. Now, that shield is under siege – from within the Church herself. The article, “Why is the Vatican Assailing Contemplative Life?” (Crisis Magazine), brings into the light what many faithful Catholics have quietly discerned for years: an active dismantling of contemplative life through documents like Cor Orans, which impose forced federations, revoke autonomy from flourishing communities, and penalize the very silence and enclosure that define the vocation. More than XX monasteries in Italy closed within a week of these mandates. In the United States, faithful Carmelite sisters are under pressure simply for desiring to remain who they are: brides of Christ, faithful to their charism, devoted to prayer, silence, and sacrifice. This is not reform. It is erosion. To treat these holy women – who have labored in silence for the salvation of the world – as relics of a bygone age is to forget who holds up the Church’s arms in the battle. As Moses was upheld by Aaron and Hur on the mountain, the Mystical Body of Christ is upheld by these hidden warriors of prayer. As Jeremy Tate recently observed: “Until the late 1960’s, priests and nuns were everywhere – schools, hospitals, city streets. Their habits and collars were walking sermons.” Now, in many places, their presence has nearly vanished – not because the Church no longer needs them, but because the Church has stopped defending them. We have allowed modernity to rob us of our sacred signs. We have traded holiness for efficiency, silence for activism, and contemplation for committees. Let me say clearly: Contemplative life is not obsolete. It is essential. Cloistered sisters are not irrelevant They are the beating heart of the Church. When the world spins into confusion, it is the cloister that remains still before the Face of God. When bishops fall silent and shepherds scatter, these women remain faithful – behind the grille, before the Blessed Sacrament, beside the Cross. They do not ask for platforms. They do not seek recognition. But they deserve our protection. To the Holy Father and the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, I beg you: Listen to these sisters. Let them live their vocations without interference. Honor their autonomy. Defend their charisms. Trust their discernment. And stop silencing the most faithful daughters of the Church. And to the faithful: If you want to save the Church, defend the cloister. Support these women with your prayers, your voices, and your material aid. Do not allow their monasteries to be shuttered, their vocations suppressed, or their way of life restructured out of existence. When the final battle comes – as Our Lady of Fatima foretold – it will be the pure, the hidden, and the faithful who will hold the line. Let us not wait until the last cloister is empty to realize what we have lost. Bishop Joseph E. Strickland
XXXXXX engagements
