RSSNEW DELHI (UCAN) — Nuns feel “enslaved” after centuries of patriarchy that have denied women their “rightful place” in the Church, a senior leader of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) says.
That is the biggest problem facing nuns in India today, Fatima Sister Teresa Peter, vice president of CRI’s women’s section, told UCA News today (Jan. 27).
“We feel enslaved. Our freedom to work in the Church is limited. We cannot even make decisions on our own work,” said the 56-year-old woman, who holds a doctorate in theology.
The CRI is the national association of Catholic Religious priests, brothers and nuns.
Sister Peter says the only way out is to free women Religious from “suppressive systems” and allow them to take responsibility for their own lives and work.
The nun, who heads her congregation’s Bangalore province, said that Catholic nuns in India “are conditioned for centuries to be docile, submissive and not to speak out for our freedom.”
She wants her people to learn to assert their rights.
‘Women need to show leadership’
Many nuns are now highly educated and head educational and Church institutions, she said. “But even theologically educated women do not have the courage to show … leadership,” she noted.
Sister Peter, who spent seven years in Rome studying theology, said she wants more women Religious to take leadership positions in the Church and open a new path.
“We need a de-formation to come out and assert ourselves,” said the nun who wants more emphasis on education for women Religious.
More women should be educated in all kinds of disciplines, including theological subjects, said Sister Peter who did her master’s at the Gregorian University in Rome and her doctorate from Pune, western India.
The executive member of the Catholic Council of India and of CRI in the Karnataka region, says her personal experience has shown that “education would give us confidence and credibility.”
She said Mater Dei Institute, a theology training center for nuns in Goa, western India, has expanded its facilities to accommodate more students.
“We are trying to learn theology from the perspective of women,” she said.
Sister Peter noted India’s nearly 100,000 nuns work mostly in remote areas but their life and service are “very relevant” for the country.
“It is simply because our life is a service, the service Indian society badly needs,” the nun said.
IA08643.1586 January 27, 2010 43 EM-lines (392 words)
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