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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious institutions & organizations > Religious & spiritual leaders
The Second Vatican Council (1963-65) asked Catholic sisters to
adapt their rules to the needs of modern culture. But how could
they know what to keep and what to discard, if they did not
understand the origins and functions of their rules? To answer
these questions, Sister Ewens studied church laws of the past and
their influence on the present, and analyzed sisters' roles in
nineteenth-century American society. She wanted to help religious
communities, including her own Dominican congregation, (of
Sinsinwa, WI) to understand their rules and roles, so as to better
discern future directions. Along the way she discovered that many
rules dated back to medieval times. She chronicles sisters'
struggles to live those obsolete rules in pioneer settings; their
contributions to education, nursing and social services; their
encounters with bigotry; how they transformed the public perception
of Catholicism; the dangers of wearing the habit in public; and
much, much more. Vatican officials who question American sisters'
roles today could learn from this book why sisters' lives had to
evolve in response to the call of the Council.
Within these pages Dr. Tull shares the poignant stories and rich
insights that shaped his life and enriched his ministry. These
"life lessons" did more than simply improve his ministerial
effectiveness; they were often the difference between bitterness
and forgiveness, isolation and community, burnout and renewal. Many
of these insights came with an ample share of negative fallout. The
author's intent in sharing his unique take on ministerial life is
that readers might claim these "lessons" as their own-and do so
earlier in their journey and without all the personal struggle. The
author's hope for those who answer the call to ministry is not that
they merely survive all the pressures, distractions, and struggles
that come with the job, but that they are able to sustain, in the
very midst of ministry, a sense of meaning, purpose, and passion.
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