<p>"In news stories about the student debt crisis, we hear about American young adults delaying the typical milestones of adulthood due to their student loans. They (well, we) postpone marriage, childbearing, and purchasing first homes. But what if you’re interested in a holier, more altruistic path? Men and women who want to join Catholic religious life must be debt-free before they even think about making their vows, and that’s a challenge for people who don’t realize their calling until after they’ve taken on student debt in the mid-five figures.</p>
<p>NBC recently highlighted the story of a 32-year-old aspiring sister who knew what she wanted to do with her life, and attended a private Catholic college. She ended up with $60,000 in student loans, which had to be paid back before she could begin the process of joining the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth." . . .</p>
<p>There’s something ironic about being too much in debt to be able to take on a vow of poverty…</p>
<p>And the article doesn’t say what she majored in or how she was planning to pay off the $60,000 in debt, whether or not she was going into a religious order.</p>
<p>While they may be in demand, the Church isn’t going to encourage people to rack up huge debts going to (unnecessary) expensive colleges and then have the diocese or order pay off the debts. Likely, this gal got her degree in something that could have been had for a lot less money. Besides, what’s the Church supposed to do if it pays off the debt and then the person decides to leave? It just isn’t good business sense.</p>
<p>Actually, there are orders of nuns who run colleges that will let future nuns go for free or will let current nuns go to school for free.</p>
<p>Two of my daughter’s roommates are caught in this situation. My daughter (who is protestant) is hoping that they have time to think things through while paying off the loans. Maybe that’s why no one was honored for entering a vocation at commencement yesterday? 21 is very young for making that kind of commitment.</p>
<p>People should be responsible for their debts. If she wanted to be a nun earlier, she could have paid off the loan in far less than ten years. If it was that important, she could have lived a very inexpensive lifestyle and worked quite hard to pay the debt…as many others do. I don’t know why this is news, really.</p>
<p>In the past, when a young woman joined a convent she was expected (or rather her family was expected) to bring at least a minimum “dowry” with her. After all her order was going to take care of her for the rest of her natural life, and in the case of a teaching or nursing order was going to be covering the costs of further education. Most orders struggle to maintain financial self-sufficiency so it makes perfect sense that a young woman not bring any debt with her even if she is no longer expected to arrive with a dowry.</p>