Nuns: Fact, Fiction

Why do you sensationalize what 49 women, 40 of whom are ex-nuns, say regarding nuns, thousands of whom go about their wonderful lives of giving service to their fellow human beings, at the same time becoming good, moral people themselves (“Lesbian Nuns Break Their Silence” by Ann Japenga, May 1)?

I know nuns. I lived under their jurisdiction in boarding school. I watched the life of my aunt, who was a nun for 50 years. I only wish I could be the saint that she was.

The article starts out as if the rule in convents against having “a particular friend” means lesbianism. Nothing is farther from the truth. It means just what it says--no more, no less.

Psychologically it (the article) helps people, who violate the laws of God and/or mankind, to rationalize away what they have done if they think many others do it also, and if they can gain support and acceptance from others by trying to convince them that many do.

The 40 ex-nuns were failures in their vocation, so they are writing from a prejudical viewpoint. And who knows if it is fact or fiction? The hundreds of nuns that I have personally known would have nothing to do with this subject.

So how about some articles about the thousands and thousands of nuns who are successful in their vocations, rather than sensationalizing 49 who failed?

KATHRYN DOWNEY

Downey