Unruly Catholic Nuns

Unruly Catholic Nuns explores the voices of current and former Catholic nuns and, by doing so, contributes to the global conversation about the role of women in the Catholic Church today. Through autobiography, fiction, poetry, and prose, Sisters and former nuns write about their lived experiences with Catholicism, both in accordance and in conflict with the institutional Church. Through their stories we learn how these women act out their missions of social justice, challenge cultural and governmental policies, and attempt to reconcile their unruliness with their religious orders and the strictures of the church hierarchy. At a time when questions of gender, religion, race, and sexuality are provoking intense debate within Catholicism and other Christian traditions, and when religion is frequently invoked in political rhetoric, these stories provide a vital corrective to our contemporary understanding of the role of women and nuns in the Roman Catholic Church.

Acknowledgments and Permissions Introduction: On Unruly Nuns (and the Women Who Admire Them) Part I. Our Father Wills The Nun Speaks to Her Church Julia Rice, OSF God Shoes Jeannine Gramick, SL She, with the Alabaster Jar Victoria Marie The Chancery Jean Molesky-Poz No One Has Hired Us Ann Breslin Pain Cries to a Patriarchal Church Mary Ellen Rufft, CDP The Altered Boy A Pillar of Power Only a Stone Crooked Since Birth Twice-Broken Vows Bed or Bread? A Resurrection Part II. Our Mother Works Sister Dorothy Stang, Assassinated Liz Dolan Unruly Women: Nuns Out of Order Carole Ganim Journey to Unruliness Pat Montley The Renunciation Pat Montley Polishing the Brass Liz Dolan Timing Patricia M. Dwyer I am a Catholic Nun Sharon Kanis, SSND Faith in the Wasteland Christine Schenk, CSJ Part III. The Holy Spirit Confirms & The Truth Shall Set U Free Jane Morrissey, SSJ Sisters behind Walls Paula Timpson Rose Hawthorne Creates Liz Dolan When Grief Opens the Doors to the Sacred Michele Birch-Conery Notes on Contributors