Pope Benedict should not throw nuns under the bus

It all fits together - the nuns being demonized by the pope, women as second class citizens in the church, yet it is they who do the good things , eg supporting Obama care in a demonstration in DC last year as part of supporting life until its natural end.............But thats what you get when a tyrant who ran the successor to the unholy inquisition. the CDF is pope............the same pope btw who is encouraging changing the good friday litergy to include the call for the conversion of jews....................The same conversion scheme that cost the life of hundreds of thousands of jews in the middle ages - convert or die. Of course he's the German pope. Enough with this monster - put him in a padded cell where he can live out his days talking to the walls who wont be listening

The nuns are the only constituency in the Church who have carried out as far as they could the reforms of Second Vatican Council. Usually, they did so in the face of stiff opposition from bishops. Now they're suffering pay-back for their success in carrying the Gospel to so many, especially people in need, in a world that gives them little thanks for their acts of kindness and of love. They have demonstrated by work of their lives that the Holy Spirit guided the Church through Vatican II. Look to the nuns to learn how to bring Christianity into the modern world and how to stand strong against oppression from churchmen.

OBPiper …So true. It would serve all to study our early Christian Church, led by married men with wives and children and who I believe were better able to serve the church's people. The Orthodox Church, from which we came, before the schism, still has a married clergy. And when it comes to women; who was the one designated to first visit and acknowledge the Resurrection in Gospel of John (20:1-18)?A woman, Mary Magdalene; if women were to be treated subserviently by the church without respect for their contributions, their faith and intellect, I don’t believe Christ would have designated this honor on a woman. Many of the practices which changed the RC church came from Roman society not Christ’s teaching. When did you ever see Christ wearing clothes of the rich or living in palaces and where in the bible did he say this was the way his legacy should be lived?

Thank you for this inspiring story. I long for a return to the early days, before the usurpation of the Celtic Church by the Romans, when Christianity was closer to its roots and free of male chauvinism and extremist celibacy.

George Dillon - ha, ha, ha, very good. With regards to the"keepers of wisdom' nuns - I'd rather have the sisters who taught (and still do teach in some orders thank God) the ONE TRUE HOLY AND APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC FAITH - not THEIR wisdom. Thank you and goodnight!

Where does Irish Central find all these imbecilic anti-Catholic bigots such as Mary Pat? Does the Ku Klux Klan have a Speakers List?

pilib04: "my Church that I have known and loved for 65 years". Has it occurred to you that maybe YOU are the one who's senile? You sure look it to me, Benedict could run rings around you.

Very good Dublinborn I am still laughing. Must tell that one to my group this morning they will get a kick out of it.

what is black and white and goes thump thump, thump ? a Nun being thrown under a bus

mairint …Are you in the Marianist Order?

Very upset to 'discover' that there are a number of people who have negative feelings about the Sisters. Yeah, in the RC world, there are the fathers but the Sisters are truly and deeply the Mothers for one and all. Given their teaching and instruction, they have really raised the children within almost all aspects of the Church. I do hope that the bis-hops really do eventually learn and understand that the future of the religion really relies upon these exceptional women.

EXCELLENT article !!!! Really to the point. Due to numerous activities I have been involved with that also had a number of Sisters on the committees, I have almost all of them perfect on so many issues. As a matter of fact, I still am in full connection with my 7th grade Nun. She is a really fine and committed person. I have often felt, that if and when women get ordained, she will surely be the #1 female priest!!! PS In terms of philib04's question, the terms are interchangeable. All Nuns are Sisters and the Sisters are always Nuns.

I do have a question about the article's author. She uses the words sister and nun interchangeably. I was under the impression that a nun was a member of a contemplative (prayer) order, usually cloistered. Sisters on the other hand belong to religious orders that serve the greater community such as teachers, socialworkers, doctors, nurses etc. Did I have this wrong?

This current Pope appears to be extremely misguided, perhaps senile. The Cardinals don't seem much better. I've tried to restrain myself, but my Church that I have known and loved for 65 years seems to be a stranger. A nasty child-rapist stranger. A stranger that terrorizes girl scouts and sisters. Enough is enough. The child rapists must be put on trial along with their protectors in the Vatican. High on the list should be criminals like Bernard Law and William Levada.

Beautiful post by mairint.