According to the AP, a Scranton nun quit her teaching job rather than comply with what she called an “insulting” demand for a letter declaring herself a practicing Catholic. Sister Regina Werntz called the request “personally demeaning” and also “insulting.”
She refused to ask her pastor to furnish a letter to prove that she was a practicing Catholic and is now leaving the diocese. She then wrote a letter to the local newspaper just in case anyone missed her point.
Werntz is now leaving the Scranton diocese to teach at an all-girls school in New Jersey this fall. She said she hopes to set an example for her students “to question or protest injustice.”
The lesson of humility and obedience will, or course, have to be found elsewhere. We all remember the lesson in the Bible, “Thou shall battle against wicked and silly requests and call newspapers when someone asks if thou art a good Catholic.”
The request from the diocese was silly. The reaction sillier.
June 18, 2007 at 7:29 pm
I love the title and summary. I thought the same thing when I heard about it.
June 19, 2007 at 1:40 am
Oh my. These days there are many “nuns” that i would question about their Catholicism. After all, many of them live on their own, don’t wear a habit, and might not even have a pin on their secular clothing indicating who they are, or to which order they belong. Personally, her response makes me wonder even more if she is TRULY a practicing Catholic. Yes, the diocese was silly to ask a nun for proof, but c’mon….
June 19, 2007 at 5:19 am
Christine,
I thought the same thing. At first I thought “Isn’t it silly to ask a nun if she is in good standing”. After seeing her reaction, perhaps it was prudent to check.