VaticanNews portal reports on the “Catholic Sisters Initiative Convening” held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from June 10–12, 2026, organized by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Over 130 religious sisters from 23 countries, alongside various “Church leaders” and “development partners,” gathered under the theme “Journeying Together in Solidarity and Hope: Strengthening Communities and Cultivating Shared Impact for the Common Good.” The event, lauded by figures like Sr. Jane Wakahiu and Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, focused on “safeguarding,” “human dignity,” “community transformation,” and “collaborative responses to contemporary social challenges,” all while conspicuously omitting any mention of the supernatural mission of the Church, the salvation of souls, or the immutable doctrines of the Faith. This gathering epitomizes the post-conciliar Church’s descent into naturalistic humanism, where the religious life is redefined as social work and the Gospel is reduced to a program for temporal welfare.
The Absence of the Supernatural: A Gospel Without Grace
The most glaring omission in the entire report, and indeed in the stated purpose of the convening, is the complete absence of the supernatural mission of the Church and the religious life. The theme itself, “Journeying Together in Solidarity and Hope: Strengthening Communities and Cultivating Shared Impact for the Common Good,” is a purely naturalistic and humanistic aspiration. It speaks of “solidarity,” “hope,” “communities,” and the “common good” in a way that could apply equally to a secular NGO or a United Nations development program. Nowhere does one find the ultimate end of all human action: the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
The Catholic Church, prior to the modernist revolution, understood the religious life as a state of perfection, a total consecration to God for the sake of one’s own sanctification and the sanctification of others through prayer, sacrifice, and the apostolate of teaching and preaching the Gospel. The *Catechism of the Council of Trent* unequivocally states that the religious state is “a school of perfection, in which men are trained to the practice of all virtues, and to the attainment of Christian perfection.” The primary aim is not “community transformation” in a temporal sense, but the transformation of souls through grace, leading them to eternal life.
Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical *Quas Primas*, established the Feast of Christ the King precisely to combat the “secularism of our times, so-called laicism, its errors and wicked endeavors.” He lamented how “very many have removed Jesus Christ and His most holy law from their customs, from private, family, and public life,” and how “the Christian religion began to be equated with other false religions and shamelessly placed in the same category.” This convening, with its exclusive focus on temporal “common good” and “human dignity” divorced from its supernatural foundation, is a direct manifestation of the very secularism Pius XI condemned. It implicitly denies Christ’s kingship over all aspects of life, reducing His mission to one of social betterment, rather than the redemption of humanity from sin and eternal damnation.
“Safeguarding” as a Substitute for Sanctity
The report highlights “safeguarding” as a central theme, with Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, emphasizing that “The centre of safeguarding is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Saviour.” While the protection of the vulnerable is a moral imperative, the modernist Church has elevated “safeguarding” to a primary concern, often overshadowing the pursuit of holiness and the preaching of the Gospel. This focus, while addressing a real and grave problem, becomes a distraction from the true mission of the Church when it is not firmly rooted in the supernatural virtues and the objective moral law.
The modernist approach to “safeguarding” often mirrors secular human rights frameworks, focusing on “trauma-informed care” and “creating safe environments” without adequately addressing the root causes of abuse: sin, the loss of faith, and the abandonment of traditional moral teaching. The Church’s true “safeguarding” lies in her immutable doctrine, her sacramental life, and her call to holiness, which, when properly lived, inherently protects individuals from all forms of spiritual and moral harm. The emphasis here is on external measures and psychological approaches, rather than on the internal transformation of hearts through grace and the fear of God.
Furthermore, the commendation of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for its “investment in the formation and empowerment of Catholic sisters worldwide” to “rescue victims of human trafficking, promote youth education, provide vocational training for women, strengthen local communities, and pursue advanced education” reveals a utilitarian view of religious life. Sisters are “empowered” not primarily for prayer, contemplation, or the administration of sacraments, but for social work and development projects. This instrumentalization of religious life for secular ends is a profound betrayal of their vocation, which is to be “alter Christus” (another Christ) in the world, primarily through their union with God and their intercession for souls.
The Language of the New Church: “Synodality” and “Collaboration”
The vocabulary employed throughout the report is a clear indicator of the modernist mindset that pervades the post-conciliar structures. Terms like “journeying together,” “solidarity,” “shared impact,” “common good,” “networking,” “collaborative ministry,” “synodal structures,” and “missionary discipleship” are hallmarks of the “Church of the New Advent.” These phrases, while sounding benign, represent a fundamental shift in ecclesiology, moving away from the hierarchical, sacramental, and doctrinal understanding of the Church towards a more democratic, horizontal, and secularized model.
Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu’s emphasis on “listening to survivors and victims of abuse” as an “essential step toward healing, accountability, and justice” reflects a therapeutic and legalistic approach that, while necessary in its proper place, can overshadow the spiritual dimensions of repentance, forgiveness, and divine justice. The Church’s primary response to sin and suffering is not merely “healing” in a psychological sense, but conversion, absolution, and the restoration of grace through the sacraments.
Fr. Anthony Makunde’s call to “strengthen collaboration within the Church” through “synodal structures and networks” further illustrates the modernist agenda. The true unity of the Church is found in the unity of faith, sacraments, and governance under the Vicar of Christ, not in “dialogue” or “collaboration” with various “partners” and “stakeholders” on an equal footing. This approach implicitly denies the Church’s divine constitution and her unique authority to teach, govern, and sanctify.
The Hilton Foundation: A Secular Intrusion into Sacred Spaces
The involvement of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a secular philanthropic organization, in organizing and funding such a convening is highly problematic. While charitable works are commendable, the Church’s mission is not merely charitable in a secular sense; it is supernatural. The Foundation’s focus on “program operations,” “shared impact,” and “societal needs” reflects a worldview that is fundamentally at odds with the Church’s primary concern for the eternal welfare of souls.
The fact that “more than 25 million people have benefited directly or indirectly from programs supported through the Foundation’s funding” is presented as a measure of success. However, from an integral Catholic perspective, the true measure of success is not the number of people who receive temporal benefits, but the number of souls brought to Christ, sanctified through the sacraments, and prepared for eternal life. The Church’s “impact” is not quantifiable in secular terms; it is measured by the grace she dispenses and the holiness she fosters.
This collaboration with secular entities, while perhaps well-intentioned, risks subordinating the Church’s mission to secular agendas and diluting her prophetic voice. It transforms the Church into another player in the global development arena, rather than the unique ark of salvation and the dispenser of divine grace.
The Erosion of Religious Life: From Contemplation to Social Activism
The convening’s focus on “ministries” that “strengthen communities” and “cultivate shared impact” for the “common good” reveals a profound misunderstanding of the religious life. Religious sisters, by their vocation, are called to a life of prayer, penance, and contemplation, offering themselves as a sacrifice to God for the salvation of souls. Their primary apostolate is not social work, but the apostolate of prayer, intercession, and example of heroic virtue.
The modernist Church has systematically dismantled the traditional understanding of religious life, replacing the habit with secular dress, the cloister with community involvement, and the Divine Office with “faith sharing” and “group reflection.” This convening is a clear example of this trend, where sisters are encouraged to be “agents of change” in the world, rather than “brides of Christ” in the cloister. The emphasis on “advanced education” and “vocational training” for sisters, while not inherently evil, becomes problematic when it overshadows their primary formation in theology, asceticism, and the spiritual life.
Pope St. Pius X, in *Lamentabili Sane Exitu*, condemned the proposition that “The Church is an enemy of the progress of natural and theological sciences” (Proposition 57). However, he also vehemently opposed the “pursuit of novelty” that leads to “deplorable consequences, abandoning all restraint” and “often leads to the most grievous errors, which become particularly pernicious when they concern sacred sciences” (Introduction). The modernist convening, with its embrace of secular development models and its neglect of traditional religious formation, is a direct fruit of this condemned novelty.
The “Synodal Church”: A Path to Ecclesial Democratization
The closing remarks by Archbishop Angelo Accattino, Apostolic Nuncio to Tanzania, explicitly frame the convening within the context of the “Synodal Church.” He stated, “As we seek to do the will of God, learning must remain at the heart of our mission as we journey together as a Synodal Church.” This phrase, “Synodal Church,” is a hallmark of the post-conciliar revolution, implying a Church governed by consensus and dialogue rather than by divine authority and hierarchical structure.
The concept of “synodality” as promoted by the modernist Church often leads to a democratization of the faith, where the “sense of the faithful” or the “voice of the people” is elevated to the level of the Magisterium. This is a direct contradiction of the Church’s teaching on her own constitution. The Church is a divinely instituted society, with a hierarchical structure ordained by Christ Himself. The Pope and the bishops in communion with him are the authentic teachers of the faith, not merely facilitators of a collective “journey.”
The true “will of God” is revealed through Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium, not through the opinions or experiences of a gathering, however well-intentioned. The convening’s emphasis on “listening” and “learning” from “experiences” risks subjectivizing the faith and reducing it to a matter of personal or collective discernment, rather than an objective deposit of truth to be believed and obeyed.
Conclusion: A Call to Return to Authentic Religious Life
The Catholic Sisters Convening in Dar es Salaam, as reported by VaticanNews, is a microcosm of the post-conciliar Church’s spiritual bankruptcy. It showcases a religious life stripped of its supernatural essence, reduced to social activism, and integrated into secular development frameworks. The language of “synodality,” “collaboration,” and “common good” masks a profound departure from the Church’s immutable mission: to sanctify souls and lead them to eternal life.
The true “solidarity” and “hope” that the Church offers are not found in temporal programs or secular partnerships, but in the sacraments, the preaching of the Gospel, and the pursuit of holiness. The “common good” that the Church seeks is ultimately the glory of God and the salvation of souls, not merely the alleviation of temporal suffering.
This convening, far from being a cause for celebration, should be a stark reminder of the depths to which the modernist Church has sunk. It is a call to reject the “abomination of desolation” and to return to the authentic religious life, rooted in prayer, sacrifice, and the unchanging truths of the Catholic Faith. Only by embracing the integral Catholic faith, as taught by the Church before the modernist revolution, can religious sisters truly fulfill their vocation and contribute to the building of Christ’s Kingdom, which is not of this world.
Source:
Catholic sisters journeying together in solidarity and hope (vaticannews.va)
Date: 13.06.2026