In the parish they take care of everything: they act as secretaries, nurses, caregivers, maids. Yet very often it is unrecognized work.
The Osservatore Romano monthly magazine “Donne Chiesa Mondo” tells the story of the life of the sisters.
"There has been a blurring of what I call boundaries in the nuns' relationships with their employers. This is an issue we need to address," says Maryanne Loughry, Sister of Mercy, lecturer at Boston College and consultant to the Center. of the Jesuits for Refugees. For the religious, "transparency and knowledge of their rights based where possible on written agreements" is needed.
Sisters very often find themselves working without any time limit. There are also situations in which, in the absence of written contracts, "one or more sisters no longer work for the diocese or for the parish priest, and consequently lose their accommodation, becoming almost homeless without warning". For Sister Loughry "in the Church there are many things taken for granted: that we are very generous, that we go out of the box if there is something special to do. I don't want to give up this characteristic, but I think it is sometimes exploited".
Abuses that unfortunately are sometimes "sexual, financial and physical: the Church has been brought to bear responsibility for bad behavior". Finally, in some convents, people live "like a hundred years ago but times are changing". "Young people have a new way of thinking, they see the world also through social media, they want to have more time for recreation. We need an open mind - concludes Sister Loughry - to face this".
(Unioneonline / D)
