What is it about the word nun? Nun placed in any combination of words seems to bring a chuckle as in the recently concluded bus tour, "Nuns on the Bus." I come from the Protestant traditions, team United Methodist to be exact, and obviously did not attend Catholic school (yet have heard the tales of terror and foreboding)so it was in my adulthood that I first met any nuns.
Some of my favorite people and persons I greatly admire are Catholic sisters. My spiritual development I owe to the Benedictine sisters in Erie. The Mount Saint Benedict Monastary in Erie is still the best example of what, in my opinion, a community of faith is to resemble: they do hospitality very well, have creative and engaging worship, and live justice by bearing witness, taking in, siding with, offering voice, and working for positive, life-affirming, dignity-guarding change.
Last week, I attended the Pittsburgh stop for the "Nuns on the Bus" tour. As they had us repeat, what they advocate is for a budget that actively cares for the marginalized and impoverished in our shared community; what they want is "reasonable revenue for responsible programs." Makes sense to me.
The attack on the Leadership of Women Religious for straying from the doctrine of Catholic teaching and being too progressive is in a word ridiculous. The Catholic Sisters I know are the church lived in the fullness of our call to love, to do justice, and to have a welcoming and inclusive heart.
As I was at the rally, I overheard a woman say to her friend, "These aren't your grandmother's nuns!" No, they are not, they are, however, the lived example of Christ in our world.
sj;