Dear Ariel,
Thank you for your beautiful piece about the old Italian nuns.
I was born and raised in Rome to expat parents in the 1960s, we were Irish Catholic so the nuns were a part of my growing up. I was 6 or 7 when Vatican II occurred under the leadership of Papa Giovanni XXIII.
It wasn't until years later that I fully appreciated the colossal impact Vatican II would have on Catholic nuns and priests all over the world.
Strangely enough, I find myself now, all these years later, engrossed in a film project which I have written and will direct in Italy which involves nuns in a convent undergoing the challenging transformations required by Vatican II. I no longer consider myself even remotely Catholic, but have great compassion for these ladies who have a genuine Christian calling.
Your piece brought tears to my eyes.
Grazie.
Jennifer Corcoran
2/16/08
What a privilege to have an inside glimpse of the usually hidden life of a religious order! The story showed both the humble humanity of the nuns and their generosity in allowing Ariel into their community as an observer. Congratulations on a sensitive portrayal of ordinary people trying to live according to a religious ideal in the midst of a society that either ignores, or takes for granted, women dedicated to a life of service.
Lionel Edes
8/31/07
Read the story, "Those Old Italian Nuns."