Stephanie Salter: The view of U.S. women religious from behind the razor wire

By Stephanie Salter

TERRE HAUTE — I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

— Matthew 25:36



As a feminist Roman Catholic, I have watched with interest as news of two Vatican investigations has broken out of insider church circles and into the mainstream.

A Vatican report sent to 341 U.S. religious congregations this summer insists one probe, an “apostolic visitation” to the mother houses and communities of nearly 60,000 U.S. nuns, is meant to be “a constructive assessment and an expression of genuine concern for the quality of life” of American sisters.

Few Catholics here are buying that, including ultra-conservatives who’d like nothing more than to see American women religious reined in, politically and socially, and put back in their pre-Vatican II place — habits and convents.

Most women religious in this country are fine with their “quality of life.” The apostolic visitation is about Rome’s fear that U.S. sisters aren’t toeing an increasingly reactionary Vatican line. Among the goals of the visitation process, the report says, is to find out how each congregation deals with “sisters who dissent publicly or privately from the authoritative teaching of the Church.”

I’ve written zero about this and the Vatican’s separate investigation of the Leadership Council on Women Religious, which represents more than 90 percent of U.S. sisters. This is not because I have no thoughts about the probes; some of my best friends are being scrutinized. I just can’t find a stable place between anger and ridicule to usefully address the issue.

I continue to pray on the matter.

In the meantime, I will let a friend who has no articulation problems weigh in on the subject. Her name is Donna Stites, and she has been in prison in Indiana for more than 25 years — well over half her life. (This does not count her time in juvenile detention, which began at age 15 when she already was a seasoned drug addict.)

I met Donna two-and-a-half years ago through her spiritual director, Priscilla Hutton, a Sisters of Providence associate. Through visiting Donna, first at Rockville, now at Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis, I have learned more about the U.S. correctional system than I ever imagined.

That Donna, a brittle diabetic with next-to-no kidneys left, has managed to survive — let alone earn every possible degree and education certificate available to her — is a miracle against all odds.

Donna and Priscilla also have taught me a great deal about where we can find the presence of the Holy Spirit and the face of Jesus — if only we will open our eyes. Never have I seen the manifestation of the divine more than through the late-spring of 2008, when Donna and Priscilla sat vigil, day after day, as Donna’s mother — also an inmate at IWP — died a slow, brutal death from cancer.

Not long ago, Donna sent the following letter to the editor of the National Catholic Reporter. The rest of today’s column, which is verbatim and edited only for a few paragraph breaks, is hers:

By Donna K. Stites

I recently read an article in the National Catholic Reporter concerning the Vatican’s investigation of the American Sisters and their accomplishments. I am one who has profited greatly from their ministry, so I feel compelled to share my experiences with this investigative committee.

I am currently incarcerated at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I have served over twenty-five years for murder. Needless to say, I have and was living a violent way of life.

At the prison, we are allowed to have a Minister-of-Record who is, more or less, a spiritual guide and companion who walks with us on our lonely journey and assures us that God’s mercy is ever-present. Priscilla Hutton, a Providence Associate, is that person for me.

Before taking on the responsibility of becoming my minister, Priscilla was told that I was one of the worst offenders housed at the facility. But that did not deter Priscilla. She has met with me each week for over five years. Two years ago Priscilla shared with me her connection to the Sisters of Providence located at St. Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana. Being an Associate of the Sisters, her duty was to carry out their charism in her daily life, which was to honor Divine Providence and carry out the virtues of love, mercy and justice in all she did.

One day I asked Priscilla if I might also become an Associate since I also wanted to live out love, justice and mercy in whatever way I could in my present state. By that time, several Sisters had begun visiting and writing to me. That added to my desire to walk with them as best I could. I knew that I was not at liberty to go to their meetings (because of my incarceration) so the visiting would have to be done on their part. In spite of long waits and considerable inconvenience, four Sisters come to visit me on a regular basis.

In January of this year, I became an Associate of Sisters of Providence, and making that commitment would not have been possible without a lot of hard work and prayer. The Congregation treated me like everyone else. For some, that might not be anything unusual, but for someone who was viewed as a “lost cause,” this was indeed a moment of grace and rejoicing.

There is a lot of holiness that cannot be described coming from that community of Sisters. Being connected with the Sisters has given me a better way to live. They are teachers and taught me how to sit by my dying mother and forgive her. I was able to see my mother as a gift and not as I had viewed her before. I learned to let God’s love be my peace.

Today I was visited by Priscilla, Sister Rita Clare Geradot and Sister Catherine Livers. It was a visit that can’t be compared to anything else. I write to another member of the Order, Sister Alma Louise Mescher, who always inspires me. These are strong, healthy women that I have become a part of. I pray that the investigators from the Vatican will see that Sisters are bringing light and new life to this dark and very lonely place.

Stephanie Salter can be reached at (812) 231-4229 or stephanie.salter@tribstar.com.

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