This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what this program meant to you.

Submit Your Reflection about "Obedience and Action."

Adding to the Skeptical Catholic Voices (October 26, 2007)
I heard (most of) the show in which you interviewed Sister Joan Chittister, the dissident Roman Catholic nun. I wonder if to balance her views you would consider interviewing a faithful (to the Roman Catholic magisterium) Catholic nun such as a member of the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist based in Michigan or the St. Cecelia Congregation based in Nasheville, Tennessee. Both are habited orders of Dominican nuns and both are overflowing with young women seeking to enter their orders (both are teaching orders). Your show seems to be very skeptical of traditional religion, and you interview many people wanting to think outside the box and look beyond the strictures of traditional religion. My question is, what's wrong with traditional religion, and is it being dismissed too readily? It's a baby-boomer cliche to dismiss tradition and look for something new and unstructured. Sister Joan certainly wants to do that. But there is, and always has been, another way. I think it would add to the voices of skepticism so often heard on your show.

Barbara Edwards
Arden, NC (WCQS, 88.1 FM)

Compliments, Complement (October 7, 2007)
I might also say "compliments," as I enjoyed listening to this particular show a lot. While I would no doubt disagree with some of the particulars espoused by Sr. Joan, I found the way she framed issues, questions and arguments well worth hearing. Now, as for a complement to this broadcast, you might want to interview someone from the Nashville Dominicans, a thriving and, many would say, traditional community of sisters.

Peter Petite
Charlotte, NC (WFAE, 90.7 FM)

A Prophet of Our Day (October 7, 2007)
Many thanks for this program featuring one of the outstanding prophets of our day — Sr. Joan Chittister. Her respectful answers regarding not only her own Catholic faith, but the contributions of every other faith tradition are inspiring and hopeful. Her sense of history and how slowly some things change should give us hope despite the slowness of our church's stance on controversial issues lead me to today's reading from Habakkuk: "Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late."

Sr. Joan has a vision that must be written down clearly on our present-day religious questions; we must trust Providence that it will not be late.

Sr. Mary Jude Jun, OSB
St. Louis, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)

The Paradox of Health Care for Children (October 7, 2007)
I truly enjoyed the perspectives of Sister Joan Chittister. I particularly appreciated her view that it is not enough to support only the birth and not the life of the child. My one concern was a comment she made concerning affordable health care for children. She stated that in the U.S. children could not go to an emergency room without insurance. The truth is possibly even worse than that. By federal law, any person who presents to an ER is seen by the doctor. An outrageously expensive bill is then generated. Her argument would be stronger on this one small point if she stated more precisely that the only way many children can obtain health care is by going to an ER and risking financial ruin.

Jim Wells
Kahoka, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)

Political Appointee (October 7, 2007)
Joan Chittister should pick the next President for the U.S.A.

Edward C. Swift
Chester, CT (WKPT, 90.5 FM)

Why Only Interview Catholics Highly Critical of the Church? (October 7, 2007)
Your interview with Sr. Joan was interesting, but I wonder why SOF and other media outlets have such a fascination with Catholics who are highly critical of the Church. For millions of us, striving to live within the rules and to learn about the great traditions of the faith is intensely satisfying and challenging. And, in our age of materialism and selfishness, following the teachings of an ancient Church can in fact be considered perhaps more "liberal" (in the real meaning of the word) than those whose energy is aimed at changing the very foundations of the institution.

I wish that the media would focus at least sometimes on faithful Catholics (there are plenty to choose from) and ask why they find the Church — however imperfect it may be in the hands of the members — so appealing and personally gratifying.

Jim Kundera
Washington, DC (WAMU, 88.5 FM)

Sr. Joan Challenges Desperate Complacency (October 7, 2007)
Just scrolled through the comments and I am struck by the angry, sarcastic tone of one in particular — the one who reminds Sister Joan of the dual sources of Church teaching: the Bible and tradition. So often the people who argue on this basis strike me as desperately trying to justify something. Sr. Joan's supple and dynamic view frightens them. She challenges us to continually reflect on the world and how to be fully human.

Peg Gallos
Milford, NJ (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Proud to Be a Catholic Woman (October 7, 2007)
I was not exactly raised Catholic (baptized at age 9) but I have always felt committed to my denomination, despite feeling that there were several things about it I would change if I could: its treatment of women, science, alternative sexuality, and abortion. I felt like a contradiction. Hearing Joan Chittister speak this morning was so affirming to my personal beliefs, religious and otherwise. It is wonderful to hear such a voice of reason coming from the Catholic Church.

Tonie Domino
Riva, MD (WAMU, 88.5 FM)

Disorganized Religion (October 7, 2007)
I first listened to Sr. Chittister on NPR awhile ago and was impressed by her. I also grew up questioning my Missouri Lutheran church in that women were not respected. They could not vote in the church at that time, could not be acolytes, and could not preach. I thought that was so wrong and so unfair. However, instead of getting involved, like she did, to try and change the institution I am still looking for a religion that respects women. If you look at religious history, there have been very few religions that actually venerate women and the few that have such as Paganism, have been vilified. Sr. Chittister, like she says, is the snowflake on the branch — she dares to say the things that many of us feel but don't dare to say. I believe, like she does, that there needs to be some very deep discussions about religion and faith because this world is heading in the wrong direction by dividing people.

Cindy Jahnke
Hudson, WI (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Childhood Presbyterian/Catholic Mix! (October 7, 2007)
I was very pleased to hear Joan Chittister's thoughts, reflections, questions, observations, and conclusions. And I could not help but smile with recall of my own childhood at a similar time. I lived in a modest sized central U.S. farming community that was largely populated by Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. During elementary school years, the Catholic girls attended Saturday religious classes and reported back to us Presbyterian girls on Monday. Recess topics were set for the week as we "chewed" on what was learned. A poem I wrote in later years reflects our concern at discovering who could and could not expect to go to heaven:

Whose Turn It Was To Swing
Whose turn it was to swing we didn't know,
The worry was the line-up into heaven.
Catholic pals, assured that they would go,
Ventured, confident, beyond The Seven,
That we, afflicted as we were,
With Presbyterian heads to guide our souls,
Were "second best" but saved, none the less.
They neither understood it nor explained.
They simply guessed.

Such questions flowed from sturdy ship-lapped walls,
Onto the school-yard grounds where we ran, playing;
Were siphoned from the preacher's head to ours;
There staying, but for these merry-go-round exchanges.
The final statement was our only reassurance:
"Second best, but surely going to heaven."

As I recall, this issue was of particular concern and resulted in the Catholic girls querying the nuns on the following Saturday. I can't recall the authoritative answer. Perhaps it was the source of the "second best" solution!

Maggie Pate
Southern, CO (KUNC, 91.5 FM)

Remembering My Father's Words (October 7, 2007)
To day's interview with Sister Chittister was marvelous. Her thoughtful considerations are so welcome in today's society. Our pope's most recent statement that the Catholic church is the only true faith was not only offensive, but totally insensitive. So it is with great hope that I listened to Sister Chittister's words this morning.

As a very young child I often disagreed with the nuns who taught me. Like her, I went home crying because I was told that people who did not go to church would not go to heaven. The people that I babysat for, never went to church. Yet they were kind, honest, hard-working and of course I loved them and their two daughters very much. My wise father told me the story of two people as I stood before him crying: one went to church every day, he said, died and went straight to hell; and the other person, who never went to church, died and went straight to heaven. I can still remember being awe struck by his words.

When I asked my Dad what he meant, he said that I would understand as I got older. Again, I can still remember being let down at his reply because I wanted a definite answer to help me. I felt so confused and thought about that day often as I grew. While his manner stopped my tears, it also broadened my young mind. He made me think even though I don't recall him saying that I would. I went on to express my thoughts with the nuns about babies in Purgatory, about being a sinner when I walked into a non-Catholic Church, about removing young women from school just because they got pregnant, about atheists, and so many of the issues that were prevalent when I attended Catholic schools through the 50s and very early 60s.

Unlike Sister Chittister, I had a dreadful time with those particular nuns. And I can only be ever so grateful to my parents who were open-minded and healing in their wisdom — obedient and liberating. You can't imagine how many times I have told "my father's story" to those that I love and have suffered because of the church's teachings. Unfortunately, I do upset those around me and find very little common ground. Bible studies are a disaster for me because of how I think, but I find them very enlightening to learn just why people believe the way that they do.

I sometimes feel that I destroy others faith; that I must be careful in what I say and who I say it to. In reading about Mother Theresa's letters, I felt such a wonder for her in how she felt alone and did her calling. She, it seems, never made others doubt their faith. We all have so much to learn. Obedience and liberty are two very different disciplines. And we confuse them often, if not all the time. Somehow my father and mother lived that difference. God bless Sister Chittister and yourself; you both listen and think. I pray for your strength and continued fine work.

Marylou Nunamaker
Fox River Grove, IL (WNIJ, 89.5 FM)

More Substance (October 6, 2007)
You spoke of Joan Chittister's positive regard of other faiths, but you elicited nothing specific. How does her Catholicity deal with the ideas of Sufism, Judaism. What does she take of the "stations and states" of the Sufi? What does she take of Judaism? And, what of the Eastern faiths? And, why no mention of Thomas Merton, another monastic writing religious who enjoyed the values of other faith traditions? I know this interview was from some time ago, but you should keep these things in mind, to put substance to your remarks.

Richard Mitnick
Highland Park, NJ (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

A More Even-Handed Description (October 4, 2007)
You say Joan Chittister is an "uncomfortable voice" in Catholicism. Perhaps for some. Maybe "marginal," "from the far left," or "leading a once flourishing and now diminishing religious community" might be a more even-handed description. It would be more "even-handed" to give articulate and competent people who believe the things she rejects exposure as well — even if discomfort for another following might ensue.

William Fitzgerald
Walton, KY (Listens to SOF OnDemand)

Church Off the Net (November 19, 2006)
Thanks again for your wonderful podcasts. I just listened to you and Sister Joan Chittister. It took me back to my grade school days and my first grade Sister, who just passed on to New Life. Sister Joan's view of monastic life and the world are much like mine. I have long believed that if a monastic fits in too well, he or she loses the prophetic voice which is central to that call. This is also true, in my view, for Christians in general. Sister Joan spoke of church off the shelf — thank you for being church off the net.

Brother Bernard Seif
Brodheadsville, PA (Listens to SOF Podcast)

Latin Root of Obey (July 6, 2006)
It appears that Joan Chittister misrepresented the meaning of the Latin root for the word "obey." The Latin root for "obey" is oboedio/ire, and in the Cassell's Latin/English Dictionary it is defined as follows:

OBOEDIO -IRE: to obey, comply with, listen to.

In so far as the third or least common usage is "listen to," it seems unlikely that by "obedience," St. Benedict really meant that one should hear their superior, carefully consider what was said, and then go about doing whatever they want anyway.

Paul Malocha
Saline, MI (WUOM, 91.7 FM)

A Prophetic Voice (July 6, 2006)
Thank you for having this interview with Sr. Joan. She speaks and writes with such clarity and common sense. She is a prophetic voice for justice and peace in the church and in the world. I just finished reading her Illuminated Life the other day. It is a book which would be a wonderful introduction to spirituality for people of all faith traditions or no professed faith tradition.

Sr. Joan will be one of featured speakers at the national meeting of Call to Action, the progressive group for Catholics seeking change in the Church, in Milwaukee this November. I am planning to attend and sit at the feet of a very wise and perceptive woman. I have a feeling many people will attend.

We need more people, especially women, like her to speak out for the benefit of all humanity, especially those who lack a voice. I look forward each week to reading her online column with National Catholic Reporter, at www.ncronline.org. I have referred her column to others I know who are not Catholic. There is a universality about the issues she addresses.

I wish I could thank her in person for all her good work and for being a role model for so many people, including distressed Catholic lay women. I have a Masters in professional ministry from St. Francis Seminary, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and am saddened by the unwillingness of the male hierarchy to use the gifts, talents, and experiences of so many of us, especially my seminary women friends, those of us with compassionate pastoral training and experience; we have so much to offer the "church," the people of God, per Vatican II; the entire church suffers as a result. Sr. Joan gives me hope that things will change, perhaps not in my life time, but eventually; nothing can stop the work of the Spirit.

Sandy Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

Bringing Me Back to the Fold (July 5, 2006)
Hearing the thoughts of Joan Chittister could not have come at a more convenient time for me. I was raised Catholic, but at 18, I am still not confirmed. I am now considering confirmation after I have been speaking with more progressive Catholics in authority, much like Joan Chittister. My brother does not approve of my interest in continuing the exploration of my Catholic roots. He suffered a great deal of pain from the church, in regards to him being gay.

Instead, my religion has been coming from bookshelves, just as she had mentioned, for this transitional time we are experiencing. I am thankful for people like Joan Chittister. They are what the Catholic church needs to bring people who have been hurt by the church, and their families back. I plan to share this show with my brother this weekend, after we listen to Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins' documentaries from an atheist perspective.

Aimee Lewis
Adrian, MI (Listens to SOF Podcast)

An Example of Humility (July 5, 2006)
Thanks so much, Krista, for your always knowledgeably presented interviews. And, your tone is so fitting for your subject of religion — so calm yet excited, seeking for truth and so peaceful. Thanks especially for today's interview with Sr. Joan. I not only had the privilege of hearing one of her talks (I was always tied to a book-selling booth but broke away once) but was even more privileged to have met her personally when she excitedly announced to me that one of her books had just been published in still another of several languages and she graciously offered to stop by the booth to sign books — this world-acclaimed speaker and author took the time to do that, even though she was catching a flight shortly to another engagement.

What a blessing she is to our church and the world. And, what an example for all of us of humility, using our gifts, and how "the letter kills but the spirit gives life." (2 Cor 3:6) Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ambrose Siers
Franklin, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

Fresh Perspectives (July 5, 2006)
Finally a person in the religious community who has an open mind. It was so refreshing to listen to someone who isn't blinded by the past. In this day of Powerpoint presentation churches, it is nice to listen to someone who has some fresh ideas. One of the most amazing speakers I have ever heard. Have her run for president!

Dan Uribe
Mukwonago, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)

There Is Only One God (July 3, 2006)
I'm a secular Jew that has always felt a connection with Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. Listening to Joan, what resonated most was the importance of us all remembering there's only one God. We all have similar dreams, loves, hurts, joys, and disappointments. As a society we too often focus on our differences which is truly a waste of time and energy. Joan's words poignantly illustrate the importance of celebrating our likenesses and how the similarity in all our faiths can draw us together.

Allan Licht
Orange, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM)

Amazing (July 3, 2006)
Simply want to say thank you for a wonderful program. Sister Joan Chittister is amazing! Thank you!

Stephen Fiechter
Anaheim, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM and listens to SOF Podcast)

Another Strong Voice (July 3, 2006)
Thank you for your recent interview with Joan Chittister. She is one of my heroes. The interview prompted me to think that you may want to interview Janice Sevre-Duszynska. Like Joan, she is a fearless tireless seeker for justice. On any given day you find her confronting a police chief in Rome, teaching ESL to her immigrant students, witnessing to Catholic Bishops at their conferences, walking across the desert along the Mexican border supporting the immigrant community, in prison for demonstrating to close the School of the Americas at Fort Benning. Google her and the pages of references will show you only the tip of the iceberg.

Bernie Byrne
Vienna, VA (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Women Priests — I Don't Think So (July 2, 2006)
Sister Joan must have been influenced too much by her Protestant father because some of what she said conflicts with Catholic teaching. She said the church is a human institution. No, it is primarily a divine institution, with Jesus Christ as its head and as the Holy Spirit as it's animating agent. She said everything has to be found in the Bible. Does it say that in the Bible? No. There are two sources in Catholicism, the sacred Scriptures and tradition. Tradition is the constant teaching of the Holy Spirit in the church over time. Tradition in the church is different from tradition in any other institution or society.

As a sister, she did not take a vow obedience to the Word of God, she took a vow of obedience to her Superior. Sister Joan said that Jesus raised women from the dead on his way to Jerusalem. He also raised men from the dead. That "Protestants don't go to heaven" was never Catholic doctrine. Even so, theology, as the church grows, evolves. It's not the role of the church to validate women, but to do the will of God. Yes, the Vatican does define life, and life is still an absolute value. New findings in biology, etc., are evaluated by the Vatican, but the Vatican, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, still defines life.

The Vatican's constant decision to not ordain women, since the death of Jesus, can only be seen as coming from one of two sources. First, it could come from a group of men who are trying to keep women out and to keep women from power. Or, it could come from the Holy Spirit who guides the hierarchy, to whom the hierarchy prays. Sister Joan feels that this decision comes from the first source. (Out of 265 popes, there wasn't one who wasn't a male chauvinist?) But, as a constant teaching of the church over centuries, it is part of the church's tradition, and must be seen as coming from the Holy Spirit. And it has the example of Jesus choosing the male disciples. To say that He didn't choose women because of the time is incorrect, He chose whom He willed: as Pope John Paul II said, he acted "with Sovereign Authority."

Sister Joan said that she wants the discussion about women priests to continue, and that she is willing to accept the outcome of that discussion, whatever that outcome is. The Vatican has said that the discussion is over, the decision is made. She could be obedient to this. But she said that she is not convinced by the arguments she has seen, and obedience to the legitimate authority of the pope is evidently not her choice. So, lets present an argument other than the many that have already been presented, since those haven't convinced her: it is an argument from aesthetics.

Women give birth and life to human beings by natural procreation. Men can not do this. There is only one other way for a human being to give give birth to a human being: to consecrate the Host at the altar. There is aesthetic balance in the idea that men can do the one, and not the other, and that women can do one, and not the other. Women can give birth to several different human beings, over time, while men, at the altar, give birth to the same human being, over and over. Women assist men in bringing Jesus to life at the altar, and men assist women in bringing human beings to life by natural procreation.

There is aesthetic balance here that would be ruined if women were ordained. Notice that both actions of giving birth will not be present in heaven, where "they will not give themselves in marriage," and where there will no longer be any sacraments, because "the Sacrifice will have accomplished It's purpose." The strongest argument for why women can't be ordained is still that the church, under the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, continues to determine that it is not the will of God, whose church it is. Most of this comes from an inaccurate understanding of the priests role in relation to other ministries. As Mother Teresa said to a priest who was very worried about an upcoming task, "Don't worry, you're only a priest."

Edward Helmrich
Larchmont, NY (WNYC, 93.9 FM)

Vocalizing the Rebellion (July 2, 2006)
Thank you so much for bringing Sister Joan Chittister's words to me. I have been seeking someone who could shake up the religious world, and she was exactly what I wanted to hear in this world gone mad with a patriarchal society where women's voices are stifled more and more. Where the institution of church has alienated me and my values, I found her words as a call to action. Thank you Krista Tippett and MPR for vocalizing her rebellion.

Cindy Jahnke
Hudson, WI (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Faith in the Catholic Church and Chittister (July 2, 2006)
Thank God for Sr. Joan Chittister. I have been raised Catholic and attended Catholic school for 10 years. In the past few years, I've been struggling to stay in the church and not go to another church that I feel more closely follows what Christ would want Christians to do in these most troubling times. Listening to her was like feeling the way, the truth, and the light shining on the Catholic church. She has restored my faith, that there is hope for salvation in the Catholic church because of her very presence in it. Listening to her has restored my faith, hope, and love, which we all need to know exist in the church we belong to, and need to follow, to be able to spread Christ's Word through His church. Thank God for her; we as Christians and true followers of Christ need to support her, and join in her efforts to help spread this most important message so desperately needed now in this world before it is too late.

Marie Fitzsimmons
Morrisville, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Evolution of Religion (July 2, 2006)
The program this morning caught my attention, although I caught it almost at the end, because indeed every day there are more questions than answers and is normal. The traditional religions, values and concepts don't fit anymore with the new discoveries in science (and the ones to come), and science is gaining speed as we speak. While, on the other hand, religion goes slower and slower, some of them even backwards due to fear of change of the unknown or simply interests of power.

The word "religion" comes from the [Latin term] religare which only means "to link" or "to be linked" and that is what we, as a whole are forgetting. We humans have the same DNA and my family are all human beings (not only my biological family or ethnic group), my "country"is the earth (not a particular land), and we should take responsibility of our destiny as a humanity and not give it to an invisible god. We have to put more faith in the human being, in his/her capacity to overcome ignorance, violence, and death because we have the tools to do so.

We are in the path towards our destiny, that is, to create the same way we're created because we are creators ourselves. What we create and how we create as a whole is up to us, and only up to us. I am sure one day there would be no more wars, no more suffering, no more death; humans will finally live in peace love and harmony thanks to the human potential when one day we'll realize that our differences are what enriches us instead of dividing us like is still in our primitive world today. Thank you very much for your program, I enjoyed it very much.

Jesus Rojas
North Miami Beach, FL (WLRN, 91.7 FM)