25 percent of nuns unhappy

Kerala nuns unhappy, finds church study
Shaju Philip : Thiruvanananthapuram, Tue Jan 27 2009, 00:56 hrs Updated: Sun, 5 Aug 2012 10:30 IST

A Church study has found that 25 per cent of nuns in Kerala were not happy with their way of life.

Many are disillusioned and battling unfulfilled desires and bitterness in life, says the study, conducted by Fr Joy Kalliyath, a research student of Nagpur University, published in the latest issue of Sathyadeepam, the mouthpiece of the Catholic Church in Kerala.

According to Fr Kalliyath, the study was conducted against the backdrop of reports that 14 nuns had committed suicide in Kerala in the last nine years.

Besides, incidents of nuns eloping with priests or laymen have been on the rise recently.

The study, using the questionnaire method, was conducted among 60 randomly picked young nuns belonging to four religious congregations. Mostly teachers, nurses and students, they came from middle class background. Such nuns were more unsettled in their religious life, mainly due to the strained economic background and unfulfilled ambitions.

The report says the religious community was normally graded according to their professional status. As a result, the less influential group feels dejected and sidelined. This, in turn, disillusions them. In such occasions, if they are offered a chance to go outside for higher studies, they willingly do so, says the study.

The study says many nuns think seriously about the path they have chosen only after becoming a nun. Suicides and elopement are symptoms of the crisis that has engulfed the religious congregations. Some nuns are also choosing to go out of the convent and live alone, it adds.

“Besides, consumerist mentality is also playing havoc with religious life. The glamour of luxury is affecting convents and monasteries very badly. It can slowly kill religious life,” it says.

Catholic Church spokesperson Fr Paul Thelakkattu says the findings would help the Church device measures to address the issues. It should be considered as self-criticism, he adds.

Courtesy: Indian Express