Beyond the Veil: Debate continues on why number of nuns is declining

Beyond the Veil: Debate continues on why number of nuns is declining

In an article posted to the Catholic News Service, Cindy Wooden had examined the reason why vocation to the religious life, especially of the nuns is been declining steadily (perhaps in Europe and America) the Europe and America is my addition, because Cindy did not write as such. In part the article began “Statistics leave no doubt that the number of women religious has dropped sharply over the last 50 years, but there is an ongoing debate over the reasons for the decline.” There are indeed many debates, “officially” and “unofficially”. I have put these in parenthesis because; it is my experience that whenever priests and religious from Africa, especially Nigeria is gathered together and the discussions happen to turn to this topical issue, many people had said many things.

And so in one of the “official” debates, Cindy wrote that;
“L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, asked one priest to review another priest's book about the phenomenon. Italian Claretian Father Angelo Pardilla, author of "Religious Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," said the principal cause for the decline was that many religious misunderstood the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and lost a sense of their identity. He cited as proof the fact that the number of vowed religious -- both men and women -- has dropped sharply since Vatican II, except in the contemplative orders that still wear habits and live with a regimented community life.” However this position has been also criticized by another priest in an “official” capacity as well and for this Cindy reports “But Father Giancarlo Rocca, a scholar of the history of religious orders, questioned Father Pardilla's thesis in the review he wrote for the Vatican newspaper. Father Rocca agreed with Father Pardilla that factors contributing to the decline include materialism, secularism, the anti-authority movement of the late 1960s and declining family size. But he said a misreading of the Second Vatican Council could not be the prime culprit, because in many places the numbers began to drop in the 1930s, long before the council opened in 1962. For Father Rocca, the key is the emancipation of women.” It must be agreed that there are so many sides to the debate. Each of the fathers has their views correct. But it must be pointed out quickly that none wearing of habit has a major influence in the decline of the numbers of the women religious.

It may be harsh to say that the religious women have lost their identity, yet there is nothing so close to it. It is also said that ‘Cuculus non facit monacum’, i.e. the hood does not make the monk, yet, it is indubitable that the hood helps to identify the monk, and the importance of this identification cannot be overemphasized. Last summer, I was in a parish at Smith Town, NY, USA, and at the table, this topic came up. A sufficiently elder priest told the story of how he encountered a group of school kids from the parish school, and one of them told him that they were glad to have seen that day “some real nuns”. Who and what is this real nun? In the parish, the nuns who manage the parish school, do not wear the habit, they simply put on what you can call a necklace in the name of a crucifix, and wear their trousers (pants) like any other woman, though they put on what you can call veil on their head, but absolutely, it does not signify anything other than a style of dressing. It happened that there was a funeral in the parish, and other nuns of different order came to the funeral from some other place. The children were in attendance, and after the mass, they circled the nuns, asking them who they were. It is no surprise that they are seeing live nuns in habits for the first time. The result is that they told the father that today they saw SOME REAL NUNS. The pertinent question here is how on earth will those children feel attracted to the religious life if they don’t see at least, the sisters dressing up in their habit, a way of openly and physically proclaiming their presence? There are so many arguments, I agree, but there are fundamental ones.

It must also be said right away that it is time Europe and America pay attention to the growing vocation in Africa and accept the fact that, perhaps, it is time for the Africans to re-evangelize them. The idea of closing religious houses or selling them because they have no candidates again does not show them to demonstrate that the Church is universal, when in so many parts of Africa, especially Nigeria, candidates are arbitrarily sent away and told that ‘they have no vocation’. But in reality, the problem is that there is no physical space for them. A religious house meant for 100 candidates cannot just take more than that. And some people are somewhere closing up theirs for lack of candidates?
Cindy quotes one of the nuns; “Sister Regan said her order has about half the members it had in 1965, but is growing in Africa, especially in Cameroon and Tanzania."Our congregation leadership will come soon, very soon, from the Southern Hemisphere and all of us have to be prepared to welcome that," she said. The shift also poses financial challenges, Sister Regan said, because the growth is taking place in parts of the world where resources are lacking.”

Conflict as "journalistic value"

Conflict as "journalistic value"

A personal comment

Some time ago, my professor wrote a book, il conflitto come "il valore giornalistico" which I roughly translated; conflict as "journalistic value". In an exercpts of this book, he bemoaned the penchant with which journalists present and in fact create conflicts even where they are not for the sole purpose of attracting attention of the masses. Here is a personal comment on the whole issue

It is very obvious that in reality what journalists seek for is for the most part, something that sells the news. It does not objectively exist that which is normally called “objectivity” in journalism. This is because every newspaper has its objective and tends to lean towards this objective in any report. Even in the political circle, there is no newspaper that is apolitical i.e. not being partisan. In one way or the other, each of them takes sides based on their ideology and objective. This position already creates room for conflict.

Again, it is very true that journalists exploit the credulity of the society, of the masses. People in reality are always attracted to sensational news, most conflict news create sensation. For example, it is always big news, hot news when the Church makes pronouncement on issues of morality and life. Also in the political arena, it would make a big headline when there is friction among the various parties in the senate. The problem here is not these real issues, but the problem as the article points out is searching and hunting for this conflict when it is not there, and actually creating one for the sole purpose of holding the attention of the public and making the newspaper ‘relevant’.

The article is also very clear and true to the fact of muddling of truth that is very often found in journalistic news or information. The principle of reporting the truth in journalism is a very good one. But reality shows that most often, the truth, which is reported, is not the real truth. It could happen that this muddling is not intended because every journalist has his or her convictions and at the same time follows the ideology of his or her newspaper for which any report is treated according to these intrinsic criteria, but as is pointed out in the article, it goes very bad when as a result of being the first to report and making sensations, the whole truth of the news in question is not researched upon, permitting that journalists make up with their own opinions.

Another salient issue that makes a very big problem is that of mixing up journalism and commercialism. As raised in the article, much tele – journals are based on what attracts the public. This is a kind of marketing. It runs foul of pure journalism. Underneath this, newspapers and journalists seem to have decidedly placed commercial gains far above journalistic information. It is understood that newspapers do not operate as non-profit organisations but the have the sacred duty of bring to the public what is true and objective. For this it is necessary to check the excesses of banal news reporting.

The above leads to the issue of valuation. Journalists must be in a state of making the right judgment what really should go for news. This calls for objective analysis of a report that goes out for news. Every journalist would claim to do this. But the problem is the question of arbitrariness. This manifested attitude to treating of what goes for journalistic news or information does not help the objectivity in journalism. Unfortunately, there seem to be little or no effort in carrying out this task. All said and done, there can never be a perfect journalism practicing in full all the principles of good journalism, what is asked however, is a positive attitude, using journalism as an agent of change in the society.

The truth of world violent conflicts

Violating human dignity is root of all conflict, says Vatican official

Giving an interview in L'Osservatore Romano, Jan 1, a top Vatican official, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has maintained that not respecting human dignity lies at the root of all conflict. While making particular reference to the renewed violence in the Gaza Strip, the prelate observed, "the source of every conflict, not to mention the degradation of the environment and the social and economic injustices is contempt for, neglect of, or only partial agreement with the principle of respect for human dignity."

The prelate's observation must have been borne out of the often-misconstrued notion that religious tensions breed much more violence, conflicts and outright wars than any other factor. According to him, “religious tensions play minor role in fuelling world conflicts; rather, countless economic and social injustices” are what foment violence. Owing to the nature of his office and from the information that are daily gathered from all corners of the world where the office is poised to solving or helping to eradicate injustices of all manner, working in tandem even with political organisations, the cardinal stands at a privileged position to make his comments. Without out rightly canonising his stand, it is only fair to state that the facts are there to see in many countries where violence and conflicts are attributed to religious tensions, that they are not true.

In Nigeria, for example, there is almost every year one or more violent conflicts between the Christians and the Moslems especially in the northern part of the country. But the truth is that a good number of these crises are borne out of political rivalries and conflicts. The most recent that occurred last November 28, 2008 was a clear case of political grudges and banditry. But as has been the case, it came out as a religious crisis with Moslems setting Christian Churches on fire. The fact of tribal misunderstanding and jealousies also contribute to violence and conflicts in the same country more than any religious tension. In fact, it is really hard to put a finger on a particular conflict, violence that is purely base on religious tension. Nigeria is the largest country in African continent. With a population of 150 million, it also accounts for the most multi-religious country in the continent. Its Moslems’ population, could most probably more than that of many other African countries. Even in those countries that are almost entirely Moslems, for example, the North Africans, it is known that there exist much violence, these border on ethnic and political tensions. The prelate therefore cannot be more correct than he is. If human dignity is respected, and injustices addressed, the world will be marching towards a great peace.

Fighting Poverty to Build Peace

Fighting poverty to build peace
Pope Benedict XVI

As the Catholic World celebrates this year's (2009) World Day of Peace, the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI in his resounding message entitled Fighting Poverty to Build Peace,draws attention to the negative repercussions for peace when entire populations live in poverty, enuciated by his Predecessor Pope John Paul II back in 1993.

Following the Catholic tradition set by Pope Paul VI, in 1967, the first of every January, the beginning of every New Year, the Catholic world celebrates the World Day of Peace, actually praying for profound peace in our ever troubled world. Reflecting on the ever widenning gap between the rich and the poor, the Holy Father charges that “fighting poverty requires attentive consideration of the complex phenomenon of globalization.” The Pope maintains that this perspective helps to understand poverty from a wide ranged and articulated view point, where we no longer talk of material poverty alone but also poverty that “exist which are not the direct and automatic consequence of material deprivation. For example, in advanced wealthy societies, there is evidence of marginalization, as well as affective, moral and spiritual poverty, seen in people whose interior lives are disoriented and who experience various forms of malaise despite their economic prosperity. On the one hand, I have in mind what is known as “moral underdevelopment” and on the other hand the negative consequences of “superdevelopment”.”

The Pope's identification of poverty as a cause of absence of peace in today's world is borne out of well reflected and analysed understanding of the world's mode of operation. The truth is that nations pay lip's service to peace. Talking of material poverty, the Pope had argued that from statistics, every nation has all it takes, resources to fight and conquer and indeed annihilate poverty. It is precisely because of non-use of the available resources in providing means of economic empowerment that people engage in violence and acts that jeopardises peace. On international level, the story is the same thing. Some nations consider themselves so powerful that they want to take control of other nations. The summary of this type of poverty is that at its root, there is a kind of percieved and real elements of selfishness, marginalization and deception. Those directly affected, see these loopholes and try to react. This reaction brings violence, conflicts and wars. The truth is that, if the world, nations, especially, the so called advanced or developed nations commit one tenth of the human and material resources in waging war or the so called Peace Keeping Forces in pursuing economic programmes based on real poverty alleviation, there would be more peace that we could expect.

It is this kind of situation that Pope Benedict, quoting his pre, John Paul II says “globalization “is notably ambivalent” and therefore needs to be managed with great prudence. This will include giving priority to the needs of the world's poor, and overcoming the scandal of the imbalance between the problems of poverty and the measures which have been adopted in order to address them. The imbalance lies both in the cultural and political order and in the spiritual and moral order. In fact we often consider only the superficial and instrumental causes of poverty without attending to those harboured within the human heart, like greed and narrow vision. The problems of development, aid and international cooperation are sometimes addressed without any real attention to the human element, but as merely technical questions – limited, that is, to establishing structures, setting up trade agreements, and allocating funding impersonally. What the fight against poverty really needs are men and women who live in a profoundly fraternal way and are able to accompany individuals, families and communities on journeys of authentic human development.”

The politics behind population control

Pope Against Population Control

In the lifesitenews.com, reporting on the above news caption of 13th December 2008, reporters; John-Henry Westen and Kathleen Gilbert wrote “In his message for the World Day of Peace Pope Benedict XVI stated the long unrecognized truth that increased population has proved an asset rather than a detriment in terms of development. "Poverty is often considered a consequence of demographic change".”
Maintaining the stand of the Pope, it is further stated that “"For this reason, there are international campaigns afoot to reduce birth-rates, sometimes using methods that respect neither the dignity of the woman, nor the right of parents to choose responsibly how many children to have; graver still, these methods often fail to respect even the right to life," he continued. "The extermination of millions of unborn children, in the name of the fight against poverty, actually constitutes the destruction of the poorest of all human beings."”

That the Catholic Church is against any act that threatens the dignity of the human person especially as it concerns bio-ethics and injustice is no longer news. The Church has at all times maintained her stand that the human person is that made in the image of God from whom in fact any definition of man must be based and without which, man becomes nothing else other than mere matter. However what is perhaps worrisome is the fact of the usually called great nations’ glaring, premeditated and systematic policies enunciated to perpetually keep the so called poor and third world (sorry, developing nations) from rising above any obstacles to greatness. One of such obstacles, according to reports, including the Pope’s speech, is reducing the growing population of these struggling nations. The great nations are at least considered Christian nations, if not catholic, more precisely, those in their helm of affairs profess Christianity.

It is then very obvious that what is actually behind such issues like abortion, birth control and the likes is not a question of people in real problem but a creation of selfishness, communicatively designed to convince people of the justification of such actions as the good of the one involved. This in communication is called framing, a topic this blog hopes to touch on. We are all being ‘framed’ into believing that human beings are so free to determine what is good for them at any time. In issues like this, one is concerned about the practice of our Christian faith. In the mid 80s, there was a strong campaign in Nigeria to implement the policy of one family, two children. The American agency behind it, through the then military government of Babangida drummed people with every enticement and there was a mass free distribution of condoms and all sorts of contraceptives. Expectedly some people fell for it. In the media, the ideal family is portrayed as a man with his wife and two children of one boy and a girl. It is also more worrisome when these things are done in the name of giving aid to growing nations. It is all politics of domination and it is done not by any other religion but by Christian religion. Religion and politics should be separate, yes, but American and European politics should be guided by good religious, Christian principles especially when they are dealing with those they claim to help.

Marching the Message with Action

Parishes offer practical, spiritual support for the unemployed

The Catholic News Service reports that in Washington, USA, “The impact of the wave of layoffs in firms, factories, financial companies and the automotive industry can be felt in parish halls or church basements across the country on any given weeknight. That's where many of the newly unemployed go for practical and sometimes spiritual advice.”
Going further, the report gave exact information on the exercise that “Just outside Detroit, at St. Andrew Parish in Rochester, a job support group began last year with about 20 participants. Now, at least 80 people attend the twice-monthly meetings, according to Betty Dobies, chair of St. Andrew's Career Mentoring Ministry, which has a partnership with 13 church groups in the Detroit area. ‘We started out thinking we'd review resumes and interview techniques, but we found that the main thing people really need is support,’ Dobies said.”

I wish to comment on the impact of the above report. We know that the Catholic Church is replete with documents, encyclicals, Episcopal letters that touch and actually state what local Churches and church organizations should do in terms of offering evangelisation that takes care not only of the spiritual needs of the faithful but also their corporal needs. We know also that we are engaged in charity works and in fact that each or many parishes have an outlet for taking care of the poor and these are doing wonderfully in most cases. But there is other aspect or approach to caring for the corporal need of the faithful, which I have observed in other Christian denominations, particularly the evangelicals – one on one attention given to their adherents, that in the present moment seems to be lacking amongst us.

Perhaps, it could be because of our number – we are always so many, thanks to God, but from my background, studying why the early missionaries had much success in eastern Nigeria, which is true also in many other parts of African countries was their resilience in forging a filial unity among the converts that all in way or the other feel responsible to each other. The evangelicals have continued this type of relationship, and in Nigeria, it is paying them much in winning members. We may argue theologically and others wise, but the truth is that people are much confident and can sustain their faith when they feel part of a community. The Church not only at St. Andrew’s Rochester, but also at any place must rediscover their kind of pastoral attention in the modern era evangelisation. It gives a view of a true family of God, which is what the Church is in reality. It gives a sense of interconnectedness, and by so doing, destroys the monster of isolation that many suffer as a result of our technological world. Places where this type of evangelisation is in place, a lively faith is known to be in place. I feel we need many of this kind of place.

Nagging Issues

Jews, Catholics Want Calm on Pius XII Issue

Not long ago, I posted an article on this blog concerning the Jewish connection in the course the canonization of Pope Pius XII. (See:- Between Silence and Action) today the Zenith News has it that a joint statement by the Catholic Church and Jewish religious leaders stated that “Exacerbating tensions regarding controversial issues is contrary to the desire of a panel of Jews and Catholics working for growing rapprochement between the two creeds”

The report went on to say that Cardinal Walter Kasper who is the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, over seeing the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, and Rabbi David Rosen, the co-chairs of the committee, declared: "We reiterate our commitment to a relationship based on mutual respect and sensitivity. Disagreements between us which inevitably occur from time to time must always be expressed in a manner that reflects this spirit and not in language that only exacerbates tension."

One thing no person can deny of the Catholic Church is her effort to build bridges of relationship with those that either sharply or mildly disagrees with her beliefs and practices. In the present day society suffocating with polemics, the need for careful and intelligent dialogue cannot be over-emphasized. The reason is very simple or so it seems. We are already in a society that is unfortunately at variance with many hitherto shared moral values and concern. Every day, the world as a whole is being further polarized by thoughts, ideologies and culture that were before now unthinkable – for example gay marriages – not that these things were not around before, but at least, then, they were seen as aberrations, but now, they are being made to assume the status of a culture, mode of life, in which case, you cannot really condemn a certain mode of life willingly chosen by a person. The Jewish issue has become a one of such dicey areas where the Church must be obviously very careful. And Jews must not over sting the Church.