Anytime there are misunderstandings, errors or problems concerning religious orders, dialogue is the best way to deal with the situation, said the head of the Vatican office that oversees the world’s religious orders. “At times there are things that either may not have been understood or are deviations, too, but which we haven’t talked about and we have to talk about again with trust,” said Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, of Brazil, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The cardinal’s remarks were in response to a question about the nature of the Vatican’s current rapport with religious sisters in light of recent “difficulties,” particularly in reference to the U.S.-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The conference is undergoing a major reform, ordered by the Vatican in 2012.

This article appears in June 9-16 2014.