I Stand with the Sisters

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I recently wrote a post that talked a little bit about my atheism, which is something that is extremely important to me. I have also, however, written an awful lot about women's rights and other social issues that are equally as important. That's why I'm choosing to highlight an important fight happening here in the United States.

I Stand With the Sisters arose as a response to the Vatican's condemnation and discipline of American nuns for choosing to focus on such crazy things as helping the poor and feeding the hungry rather than on things the Vatican sees as important--like standing against abortion or same-sex marriage. It's a grassroots movement designed to raise awareness of the Vatican's ridiculous decision to punish nuns who don't fall in line, as well as a show of support for nuns who are concentrating on making the world a better place rather than trying to make it a more divided one.

I've known four nuns in my lifetime. Yes, I know that's neither a statistically significant amount nor can their actions be used to make broad generalizations about all nuns. That having been said, all four of them have been kind-hearted, open-minded, and dedicated to doing good in the world. I once heard one of them say to a roomful of people at a dinner celebrating the LGBT community: "I'm sick and tired of seeing a 2,000-year-old book used as a way to discriminate against people and take away their rights." This woman is about eighty years old and has had my admiration since.

And she isn't the only one. As NPR reported in May:

The Second Vatican Council, popularly known as Vatican II, had asked religious orders to modernize, which for many nuns meant focusing more on social justice and other issues in their communities and less on promulgating church doctrine — including Rome's strict views on birth control and abortion. 

So, the problem seems to be that while nuns have been moving forward, the rest of the Catholic hierarchy hasn't been. There is also the matter of the Vatican prizing doctrine over people. Sister Simone Campbell told NPR's Melissa Block:

...what we do as women religious is, we minister to people everywhere who are suffering, who are being discriminated against, and we don't ask to see a baptismal certificate. We serve everyone we find, in keeping with the Gospel of Jesus. That's what we're doing.

The bishops have a different mandate and a different message. And they are trying to protect the institution and to worry mostly - apparently - about an orthodoxy that I can't quite understand. But our different missions still - serves one faith.

I have to say that I've seen nuns as being allies for a long time. They are about empowering women, aiding the poor, educating themselves and other people, and generally being awesome. In the wake of this new crisis, I feel the need to be their ally as well. We may not hold the same beliefs about the nature of the world, its creation, or whether or not there's a supernatural being behind it all, but we do stand on the same side of the social divide that has been tearing this country asunder for over a decade.

Please, please, please, regardless of your faith or lack thereof, pledge to stand with the sisters. Like their Facebook page in order to keep up with news about their fight. Visit the website to educate yourself more on the issues at stake. Write letters/call people/put up flyers to help spread the message as well as to voice your opinions on the matter. Pray (if that's what you do/what you think will help). If you're a priest or a man of faith, stand in solidarity with these women. If you're a woman of faith, press your religious community to be more open to women in positions of power within various denominations of whatever religion you follow. If you're an atheist, as I am, do not let your disbelief in god stand in the way of supporting women who are trying to make the world a better place. Stop letting the Vatican condemn women as feminists (as if that was a bad thing) simply because they don't agree with them.

One other thing that I suggest doing, if you haven't already, is to help one nun climb her way even further up the best-seller list. Apparently after the Vatican threw a hissy fit over Sister Margaret Farley's book Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics it soared up to #16, although it has since dropped down to #26. Whether or not Sister Margaret is actually hoping to make it even closer to the top is actually irrelevant. Showing the Vatican that just because they say something doesn't mean everyone is going to jump to obey is a big step towards change.

I stand with the sisters. Do you?

-J