Elderly Roman Catholic nuns are facing a retirement crisis. Unlike the male-dominated patriarchs who control the church’s vast wealth, the sisters focused on service, austerity and received little or no compensation. While some religious orders required nuns to take a vow of poverty, the poverty meant a commitment to living a frugal and charitable life – one that required sacrifice. Sisters who took a vow of poverty did not intend to end up homeless, without any visible means of support or healthcare.
It’s no wonder the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
refuse to sell their convent to recording star Katy Perry. The nuns have alleged that the Roman Catholic archdiocese is bullying them into making a sale. According to the New York Times, “[the] deal would pay about $10 million for the convent, but with little cash up front, while giving the archdiocese more than $5 million to buy out its long-term lease on a retreat house for priests.”
"The religious women have, for a long time, been sorely neglected in our Church. All those who were served by these sisters should reach into their pocket and help them out as soon as possible."
It has been further documented that aging nuns who have spent their lives in service by taking care of others have been forced to spend their final days in low-income, public nursing homes. Father Brian Jordan, from St. Francis of Assisi on W. 31st Street in New York City stated, "The religious women have, for a long time, been sorely neglected in our Church. All those who were served by these sisters should reach into their pocket and help them out as soon as possible."
With all due respect to Father Brian Jordan and other fair-minded members of the Roman Catholic clergy, it’s time that the papal hierarchy headquartered in Rome consider opening their hearts to the countless women who served the church, the people of God, and especially mankind.
For the Church to heal the world of gender inequality, it must set a shining example by becoming whole unto itself and according women a place of power, respect and financial dignity.
The wide gulf between riches for men and nothing for women in the Roman Catholic Church is an atrocity. In effect, the church is killing the goose that lays the golden egg. For centuries, “women religious,” as they are defined by the church, have been an unending source of spiritual sustenance and a steady supply of low-priced labor staffing the myriad nonprofit organizations, hospitals, orphanages, schools and churches around the world.
Fewer women are choosing the demands of a sisterly lifestyle that rewards men and punishes women. In 2010, there were only 56,000 nuns in the United States, less than a third of their 1965 total. Without a steady supply of worker bees, the Church is causing its own labor infrastructure to crumble from within.
On April 29, during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis said, "As Christians, we must become more demanding... [By] supporting with decision the right to equal retribution for equal work, disparity is a pure scandal," he said.
According to Vatican Radio , the pope was referring to divorce rates. Instead he might think about cleaning up the egregious gender inequality in his own house. There is something to ponder in the ecclesiastical meaning of the word “catholicity,” which means a wider range of interests, tastes, liberality, universality, and ultimately connotes wholeness. For the Church to heal the world of gender inequality, it must set a shining example by becoming whole unto itself and according women a place of power, respect and financial dignity.
Patricia Vaccarino owns Xanthus Communications, a national PR firm, and the internet company, PR for People®, where people share their news with the world. Patricia Vaccarino has written award-winning film scripts, press materials, and content. In her spare time, she writes books, essays and articles.