Nuns Who Signed Abortion Dissent Won’t Be Ousted

Roman Catholic Church officials backed down Saturday from their threat to dismiss two nuns who publicly acknowledged dissent from the church’s stand against abortion.

In a statement from Rome, telephoned to the two nuns--Sisters Barbara Ferraro and Patricia Hussey--in Charleston, W. Va., the General Government Group of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur said: “We will not proceed with the process to dismiss.”

The two nuns had been under threat of dismissal since they signed an Oct. 7, 1984, newspaper advertisement that said “a diversity of opinion exists among committed Catholics” on the abortion issue.

“We’re elated,” Hussey and Ferraro said in a statement released here by Frances Kissling, head of Catholics for a Free Choice.

“This is an enormous victory,” the nuns said. “The past four years of struggle have been extremely painful but this decision makes it all worthwhile. We hope our struggle will make it easier for other Catholics to remain firm when they face (church) injustice.”

The two nuns had received two preliminary warnings of dismissal.

The leadership group, meeting in Rome, said it had decided that “dismissal would not be in the best interest of the church or the religious congregation at this time.”