A canonical visitation of the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem has begun at the behest of “Rome,” according to La Croix.

The community, which has a Carthusian spirituality, has flourished since its founding in 1950, with over 700 contemplative sisters in nearly three dozen monasteries.

The visitation, entrusted to Father Jean Quris and Benedictine Sister Geneviève Barrière, comes amid allegations of an environment of coercion in which sisters are asked to divulge their thoughts to the prioress but are effectively forbidden to speak with priests, facing rebukes if they spend more than one minute in the confessional.

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