Week 10

This week talking about Catholic Nuns seemed very interesting.  I never knew that there were different kinds of nuns.  Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic schools from Kindergarten through senior year I have grown accustom to seeing them walk the halls of my schools and churches.  While taking many years of religion classes, they did not talk too much about the history of Nuns and why some Nuns had black or white veils.  I have often wondered why some Nuns had white veils, but for some reason I never asked.  I think it is due to the fact that I have mostly only seen nuns with black veils, and I have only seen white veiled nuns a hand full of times.  Going to class, in a secular university, I finally knew why!  All for the reason of having nuns who grew up wealthy (white veils) and for the nuns who grew up middle or lower class (black veil).  This kind of makes sense that I was not taught that going to Catholic schools, due to the fact that, it in a way, was not very Christen like, to have a destined symbol of wealth over others (white veil).  Another thing from this past week’s lecturer class was that many women in Latin America chose to become nuns.  With thirty or more percent of Latin American women becoming nuns it shows that it was a good option for them.  Knowing that it was a good way to be educated, and for the most part women seeming to have a better thirst for knowledge, due to the fact that many of them were not sent to school, becoming a nun must have seemed very liberating.  It must have also been a good option for women who never had any interest in getting married, for whatever reason, or for getting out of a bad relationship.  In the hands of the parents I can understand that they would rather have their daughters become nuns than get married to a man.  For one thing they did not have to give too much of a dowry to the Catholic Church, giving them the option to save it for themselves or the rest of their family.  It sounds a bit harsh to be stingy like that, but I can understand that in a world where money is not easy to come by and every bit counts.  Also for many of the good Fathers of the Latin American women I can see why they would rather have their daughters join the Church, where for the most part were very respected and had good lives, than married to a man who could have been abuse them and treat them like second class citizens.  All in all becoming a nun may have been the best option for women because of the respect that came with being a nun.