The World - News from July 22, 1986

The Vatican threatened two U.S. nuns with disciplinary measures for signing an advertisement discussing abortion that appeared in the New York Times in 1984. Sisters Barbara Ferraro and Patricia Hussey, who run a shelter for the homeless in Charleston, W. Va., were among 27 nuns, priests and brothers who signed the ad, which held that the church’s ban on abortion is not “the only legitimate Catholic position.” The other 25 have since affirmed their adherence to Catholic doctrine. The Vatican statement said it hopes that the nuns’ order, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, can resolve the case without the Vatican having to take action.