Comments on: You know who needs to be taken down a peg or two? NUNS.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:20:23 +0000

Sister, I cannot adequately describe how tickled I am to read your comment. Thank you for your comment and first-hand knowledge about the ebb and flow of religious life. I’m not sure how you found us, but I am very glad that you did.

By: Sister Christer

Sister Christer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:58:53 +0000

Hi, there. I’m a nun. A sister really, as the technical def. of nun is a cloistered contemplative and, like Sr Sandra Schneiders, I belong to an apostolic, or ministerial, congregation. I appreciate the great dialogue – questioning – discussion going on here (as opposed to Thompson’s diatribe)… Just wanted to say “hey” and mention that if you compare numbers of religious in the US to the mid 20th century, then yes, it does come up dramatically shy of the numbers… but if you look at the bigger, more ancient, picture, you’ll see that religous life has always gone through cycles of larger and smaller periods. Some are still called to live in community, with vows, for others. . . some are called elsewhere… yet I do believe that all are called somewhere.

And yes, there are very numerous young sisters and nuns in Latin American and Developing nations. It is still a way God calls some to education, formation, and inspiration – whether they remain forever or for a time in this one form of religious life.

Peace and All Good, Sr. Christine (aka sister christer). Oh, and I LOVE your blog title!

By: Av0gadro

Av0gadro — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:41:58 +0000

I went to college with a girl who became a nun. She wasn’t raised Catholic, but said she felt called to a simpler life with more direction and purpose. I also know people who join the military because having someone telling you what to do with your life appeals to them. I think there will always be some people who are more comfortable in a hierarchical structure, with a clear chain of command. But not many people.

Are there more (young) nuns in poorer countries? What about in countries where Catholicism is more revered, like Italy or South American countries? Here, it seems like a weird choice to everyone around you – nobody understands why a twenty-year old biochem major is going to cloister herself. But in more religious countries is it less questioned?

By: j.d.regent

j.d.regent — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:51:42 +0000

Yes Becky, but I think even these days it would be nice for a lot of people to have chosen celibacy as a community-supported lifestyle.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:11:10 +0000

Sure, you can email (link is in the right hand column), but I don’t mind novels.

By: bellethellama

bellethellama — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:57:44 +0000

@PhDork: do you mind if I email you a response to this? I have SO much to say, but I don’t want to write a novel here.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:47:32 +0000

@JDRegent: True–women could definitely have a semblance of family life and true emotional intimacy in a religious life. And I would argue that in the bad old days–by which I mean 200 or 500 or 700 years ago, a celibate lifestyle, even if it was cloistered, might have seemed infinitely preferable to early marriage, constant pregnancy and death in childbirth (particularly for lesbians).

By: j.d.regent

j.d.regent — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:35:10 +0000

Also orphanages, education and childcare are important historical projects of religious women. So in a way you do get family life, it’s just a different form.

By: j.d.regent

j.d.regent — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:34:04 +0000

I still think there is a small but important percentage of the population who would choose to live in celibacy. There are compelling reasons to choose not to have children and/or sex. I would like to see all different models or orders of religious life, some of which might allow sex and families and others not. Somebody wrote an article inspired by “Doubt” that suggests that the loss of nuns helped facilitate sexual abuse as they would often act as watchdogs over the priests. I don’t know if that narrative is based on anything real but it’s interesting to consider the unexpected consequences of women’s diminished role in religious life.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:03:57 +0000

@DangerMouse: There’s already a crisis in Church over the lack of new priests. Seminary enrollment is waaaay down over where it was at its height some 60 years ago, and as the old priests retire or die, there are a lot of parishes that don’t have a full-time priest. It’s not as acute as the drop-off in women’s vocations, but it’s a serious problem for the church in the US.

Contrast that with the mainline Protestant denominations, whose seminaries are full, and full of women. Over 50% of students at Episcopalian, Methodist and Presbyterian seminaries are women (and many of them women who are turning to the ministry as a second career). The only exception are the Southern Baptists, b/c their ignorant-ass leadership actively discourages women from seeking pulpits (although there are still women who do so).

I completely agree with you that celibacy is a huge part of why so many men these days don’t want to be priests. When you combine that with the fact that the Church denies the priesthood to half the population, they’re obviously not going to increase their ranks anytime soon.