How dark a world would we live in without nuns?…. [T]hat question, and its sad answer, hangs over If Nuns Ruled the World, by Jo Piazza…. “They would not be able to devote themselves so completely to service if they had a husband or kids,” asserts Piazza. “The fact that they don’t have those things allows them to live this very authentic life dedicated to the people who live at the margins of society and the causes they are fighting for.”
Erin and I had an extended conversation about this topic a few days ago, and we discovered we’re more or less of the same mind. Both of us admire nuns for the manner in which they live their lives. If more Christians followed the example set by nuns, this world would be a much better, safer, and kinder place. Christianity would be in a much better place…because who lives the teachings of Jesus Christ more fully and authentically than nuns? They fight for the causes and the people Christ himself did and would today if He walked the Earth. They care for those considered “less than,” they model kindness and charity, and they work to support peace, love, and understanding (and there’s nothing funny about that- apologies to Elvis Costello). You rarely (if ever) see nuns condemning Liberals as evil, godless, gay-marrying, Islam-loving freedom haters…or advocating for causes and positions advocated by the American Taliban.
In fact, one could fairly argue that our world would go completely to Hell without nuns. They chain themselves to fences at nuclear missile silos, they battle with Wall Street CEOs over income inequality, they serves as escorts at abortion clinics, and they’re nothing if not dedicated, selfless and irrepressible. Who can forget Sister Simone Campbell, the driving force behind Nuns on the Bus. Campbell and her fellow Nuns travelled the country during the 2012 Presidential campaign. They drew attention to themselves for being a thorn in the side of Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) for his heartless inhumanity and his devotion to the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand.
“He spent most of his time trying to impress me,” Campbell tells Piazza about a meeting with Ryan. Apparently, Ryan tried bragging about how he sleeps in a cot in his office—to a nun. “He just really lives inside his own head. It is so sad,” she explains.
Nuns don’t deal in artifice and pretense, and most have a finely tuned bullshit detector. They’re some of the most real people you’ll ever run across, because they live their lives authentically and honestly. They’re not running for office, they’re not looking to get rich, and they’re certainly not looking to become America’s next reality TV star. They live their lives as if they’re on a mission…because they are. They lead Christ-like lives because that’s what their faith directs them to do. It’s almost enough to make me believe in God, even a kind and benevolent one.
The only problem is that nuns are literally a dying breed. Their life of chastity, service, and asceticism isn’t for everyone, and fewer women are choosing to wear the habit these days, making them something of an endangered species. It’s too bad, really; though I have some significant philosophical problems with the Catholic Church, nuns aren’t occupied by the same issues and Church politics that occupy those in the priesthood. They’re not fixated on controlling the lives and reproductive functions of women, and they don’t molest Catholic children under their influence. They’ve been investigated by the Vatican for allegedly not strictly following Vatican policy, which seems to me as if it should be viewed as a badge of honor.
It’s sad that a way of life so dedicated to service and selflessness is dying on the vine. Who will be an irritant to evil, inhuman zealots like Paul Ryan when the nuns are gone? Who will take up the cause of those society considers “less than?”
I don’t believe in God, and I’m certainly not Catholic, but I can certainly get behind people who so endeavor so assiduously to live their faith. You may not realize it, but we’ll miss them when they’re gone.
