Harvard Valedictorian to Enter Convent

[mancune]

<p>Amid the legions of indistinguishable wannabe i-bankers and management consultants, Harvard really does have a lot of fascinating kids swiming around. Here’s one you don’t see much of these days. She sounds like a frighteningly bright and thoughtful young woman, no matter what your personal opinion might be of organized religion or the Catholic church:</p>

<p>[God</a> and Woman at Harvard - Article - National Review Online](<a href=“http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/244665/god-and-woman-harvard-kathryn-jean-lopez?page=1]God”>http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/244665/god-and-woman-harvard-kathryn-jean-lopez?page=1)</p>

<p>I’m glad this one will be dedicating her prodigious talents to teaching and public service of a sort, as opposed to schmoozing around Goldman or McKinsey.</p>

[Banjo]

<p>She does sound like a really bright and thoughtful person. That’s especially why this seems like such a waste to me.</p>

[IBfootballer]

<p>Nuns today aren’t like the ones of the middle ages. They don’t sit in the convent all day and pray. They go out and do what they see as God’s work, presumably including things in which a Harvard education would be quite useful.</p>

[DwightEisenhower]

<p>Fascinating. I have a lot of respect for her decision.</p>

[JHS]

<p>Fascinating. I know one other extremely intelligent 2010 graduate who is making the same choice with a different order. I would love to be able to see into the future on these women. I know several ex-nuns who sound like this.</p>

[Bay]

<p>Very interesting, but this quote of hers made me balk:</p>

<p>

In our own times, the Church’s unequivocal opposition to practices such as abortion and contraception, which harm women physically and psychologically, and threaten to render them victims of their own and others’ unchecked desires, makes the Church a lone voice above the chaos, promoting women’s dignity and happiness

</p>

<p>She sounds a bit out of touch with real life in the 21st century.</p>

[etondad]

<p>I know of another woman who has just graduated from the Div School who is seeking a cloistered life as well. When I visited the Carthusians (they make Trappists sound chatty) in Vermont several years ago I discovered that one of the brothers is a Harvard graduate–he has been in the Order for over 10 years and couldn’t be happier.</p>

[twinmom]

<p>For the record, she was not the valedictorian; she delivered a commencement address in Latin. </p>

<p>It was quite amazing!
[YouTube</a> - Mary Anne Marks: “Cor Harvardianum, Cor Nostrum”](<a href=“Mary Anne Marks: "Cor Harvardianum, Cor Nostrum" - YouTube”>Mary Anne Marks: "Cor Harvardianum, Cor Nostrum" - YouTube)</p>

[Hanna]

<p>Wow, her order has an amazing web site. All the sisters look very happy. I have never seen floor hockey played in habits before.</p>

[JHS]

<p>Why would it surprise you that a bunch of idealistic, engaged, healthy, and intensely romantic young women would (a) have a great web site, in which (b) they looked happy?</p>

[kmaqMom]

<p>KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ: You are a Harvard graduate. Aren’t you surrendering all the possibilities that entails by entering a convent?</p>

<p>MARY ANNE MARKS: Yes, if one doesn’t see becoming a well-educated, intellectually alive nun as one of the possibilities.</p>

<p>Ha, I love it!!</p>

<p>I am not familar with the interviewer but she sounds like an idiot in this article. Condescend much? A “dying loser organization”? Seriously?</p>

<p>The Dominican Sisters in Ann Arbor are indeed a vibrant bunch.</p>

[kwu]

<p>For the greater glory of God.</p>

<p>If only women could receive Holy Orders.</p>

[Hanna]

<p>JHS, is it your experience that small local charities typically have web sites more thorough, more organized, and more revealing than most colleges’ sites? That is not my experience.</p>

[Nikkor50mm]

<p>From a design perspective, I wouldn’t consider their website particularly good; the logo beveling and the presence of a splash page makes me cringe (it’s not 1995, it’s 2010) and the blue background is a poor choice. A dark, warm brown would do wonders for the site. I think I might be a little more critical than most though, since I do freelance graphic design.</p>

<p>The content is comprehensive and detailed, though.</p>

[Admiral]

<p>Though she was in my class, I didn’t know her. I was definitely impressed by the Latin speech.</p>

<p>

I am not familar with the interviewer but she sounds like an idiot in this article. Condescend much? A “dying loser organization”? Seriously?

</p>

<p>The interviewer definitely comes across terribly, but she’s actually a Catholic- in fact, she’s a fierce advocate of Catholicism. Her questions are, rather than insults, attempts (perhaps poorly guided) to set Marks up to defend the Catholic church, and shots against editorialists. Read it again:</p>

<p>

Lopez: I don’t know about you, but I read the New York Times. A number of the op-ed columnists there, and a number of the news stories, tell me that the Catholic Church is anti-woman. And from other stories, about the various scandals, the Catholic Church also sounds like a dying, loser organization of sinners.

</p>

<p>It’s pretty crude, but it’s clear she sides with Marks. Her cheap shots do look unimpressive next to Marks’s answers, though. (I’ve seen other articles indicating she’s interested in getting a Masters or Ph.D. after graduating. I think we all agree the world could use a well-educated, intellectually alive nun like her).</p>

[kmaqMom]

<p>^^
You’re right, Admiral. After re-reading it, I can see Ms. Lopez probably had her tongue firmly implanted in her cheeck when she asked these questions. Actually, I don’t know how I missed that the first time.</p>

[Weston]

<p>Good for her! I have the feeling she has a lot to offer the world. She was called and responded and I can’t imagine that her discernment was haphazard. Who cares that the decision is counter cultural? I believe she has the opportunity to flourish with her choice.</p>