OPINION: In support of religious sisters

For the past year a photographic/video exhibition has been touring Irish venues to coincide with the centenary of the Irish State in 2023. It is a social history project called ‘Daring to Hope – Irish Religious Sisters Embracing the Unknown 1923-2023’. The project was the initiative of a group, supported by the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI).
It is a celebration of the work of selfless women, all sisters (or nuns, as we often – mistakenly – call them). These are the women who were at the coalface of Irish and foreign societies providing care for children and adults. They worked alone, they worked with partner groups and with their colleagues. They built schools and hospitals, and provided social services to millions of people. They did this work at a time of huge change, especially in this country as the new state grappled with its identity.
When the Irish State was either unwilling or unable to provide education for its children, sisters came along and provided the needful. Sisters also delivered healthcare, opening hospitals, providing the nursing care and social services.
Across the globe, much of this work was carried out in an environment of poverty, war, political upheaval, injustice and racial discrimination and within the context of strict religious and social mores. The sisters carried out this work because they had faith. This was their way of responding to their belief in the Gospel message.
The exhibition of the 100-year journey is shared in three phases: Pre-Vatican II (1923-1965) Pioneering Ministries; Post-Vatican II (1966-2000) Era of Great Change; and Contemporary (2001-2023) Ongoing Ministries. All echo the words of Jesus in St John’s Gospel (10:10): ‘I have come that you may have life and live it to the full’.
The exhibition, now finished unfortunately, visited many centres across Ireland – including Knock last August – and also visited Rome. It’s an exhibition that should really visit every town in the country because these sisters are from every town and village. It’s a celebration of small-town and rural Ireland and its people. Too often we see such people as ‘other’ rather than the people they really are, our brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and friends, all from within our own community.
We know religious sisters operated industrial schools, orphanages and mother and baby homes. We also know there were huge failures by sisters in many of these institutions. It is only right that people who have suffered such institutional abuse be assisted at all levels.
Last week the Association of Catholic Priests issued a statement in support of sisters. “Hindsight alters perspective. It is clear that many religious regret that their orders ever took on the State’s job of running orphanages or got involved in providing services to the single pregnant women whom no one wanted to help and many of whose families saw them as objects of shame and profound embarrassment,” the statement says. 
“The cultural context of the times is rarely, if ever, mentioned. Society judges the past harshly while media outlets seek to outdo each other in condemnation. Religious sisters are vilified; a harsh hard-faced nun, dressed in traditional habit, has become the standard media image of all nuns. It is false and unjust,” the statement adds. “We are not suggesting any cover up of abuse, but we look for balance, fairness and perspective in the presentation of the stories.”
Most of the sisters today are elderly women. Their media portrayal is a cause of deep hurt.
The ACP statement continues: “The reality is that most have lived quiet, hard-working lives with a minimum of financial reward. In the current atmosphere they are afraid to make their voices heard, knowing the abuse that would be showered on them from many, many quarters.”  
Perhaps history will be kinder to these women, many of them true pioneers in education, health, social services and community development. They have left their mark not alone on the hearts of generations of Irish people but also where they served as missionaries.
Their work has lifted many people out of poverty and, through education, enabled many people to live fulfilled lives. Many other people lived longer and healthier lives as a result of the care administered by sisters. We are grateful.

•  The ‘Daring to Hope – Irish Religious Sisters Embracing the Unknown 1923-2023’ photographic exhibition is still available to view online at daringtohope.ie.