Statue of Nano Nagle leading the way out of darkness which stands at her birth place in Ballygriffin, Co. Cork. Ruadhán Jones and Chai Brady
The Government has been accused of “omitting” the “gigantic” contribution of women religious from its official programme for St Brigid’s day, with just one event in Irish embassies across the world acknowledging their work.
Women religious and missionaries told The Irish Catholic that the State’s “blindness” towards the work of pioneers like Nano Nagle and Catherine McCauley is “very sad”.
The State cannot “deliberately omit” these women who were “gigantic figures in our history, whether we like it or whether we don’t”, said Ursuline Sr Marianne O’Connor. “The actual facts are there to prove it.”
While acknowledging the dark legacy of abuse, Sr O’Connor said it is “sad that they can’t see the good in these figures as well”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said on February 1 that “events across the world will highlight women working in a myriad of fields – fine art, science, literature, business, politics, poetry, theatre, music, sport, and more”. However, just one event – held in the Holy See – dwelt on the work of women religious.
The State has “very short memories”, according to Sr Sheila Kelleher PBVM. Only for the work of women religious, “there’d be no foundation for Catholic education, no foundation for the State at all”, she said, “but that’s not acknowledged”.
“I think part of the problem is people haven’t a sense of history,” Sr Kelleher continued. “I often think of Nano Nagle, I have to pinch myself sometimes to say did she really do that… they were pioneers.”
Missionary and inter-faith advocate Sr Kathleen McGarvey OLA said it is sad that the State didn’t recognise the contribution of women religious, calling it a “blindness, whether its conscious or unconscious”.
“Nobody has done everything perfectly, and there are many ways in which we have not been perfect,” Sr McGarvey said.
However, she pointed to the good that women religious continue to do around the world.
“Women religious have made great contributions in the sciences, many were pioneers in their own right… they continue to reach out to the peripheries across the world,” she told this paper.
Trained social worker and founder of the Children’s Grief Centre, Sr Helen Culhane of the Sisters of Mercy, said St Brigid’s day would be an “ideal” day to recognise and celebrate the work of women religious in Ireland and across the world.
“It’s very disappointing” they were overlooked by Government on the day, she said, asking: “By not doing it they obviously have an issue, so what is their issue?”
She also asked why many women religious won’t raise their voice and stand up for themselves, saying: “Where is the voice of women religious? They don’t want to be quoted. I’ve been interviewed by journalists for the last 17 years, I’ve never had a backlash from anything I’ve said. What witness are we giving as religious? It raises the bigger question, what are they afraid of?”