US nuns say Vatican crackdown has had broad effect on Catholics

The biggest umbrella group of American nuns says the Vatican's recent crackdown has had a broad effect on Catholics around the globe who have rallied to their support and expressed concern about their treatment.

The Vatican has ordered a full-scare overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, appointing three bishops to rewrite its statutes and approve its programs after a Vatican assessment found it had strayed too far from church doctrine.

The Vatican has stressed that its report targeted the leadership organization, which represents about 80 per cent of U.S. nuns, not individual orders.

But in a statement Monday, the LCWR said the Vatican's crackdown had been felt by "the vast majority of Catholic sisters" and lay Catholics globally. The statement was issued after a "difficult" meeting with Vatican officials last week.