As the top officials of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious prepared to meet in Rome with the head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, they received messages of support from the executive committee of the Congregation of Major Superiors of Men and the heads of seven Franciscan provinces in the U.S.

"For us, there can be no dispute that God has been and continues to be revealed through the faithful (and often unsung) witness of religious women in the United States," said the provincial ministers of the Order of Friars Minor in an open letter to U.S. Catholic nuns.

The CMSM statement said its members "have been inspired by the sisters' promotion of Catholic social teaching, their service to so many in health care and education, and their fidelity to the Gospel and service in the Church."