For Immediate Release
November 12, 2001
Contacts: Bonnie DiCarlo 412-480-5247, Tim Vining 412-361-3022

Thomas Merton Center to Honor Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB at Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Sister Joan Chittister, the Benedictine nun who refused a Vatican order forbidding her to speak at an international conference on women's ordination, will be honored at the 2001 Merton Award Dinner on November 14. The dinner, the Thomas Merton Center's major fundraising event of the year, will be held at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh.  The ceremony will begin with a silent auction and cash bar at 6:00 p.m., followed by the dinner, award presentation and an address by Sr. Joan Chittister at 7:00 p.m.   Sr. Joan will be speaking to a sold-out crowd of over 500 attendees.

In an appearance that the Vatican had warned would "create scandal" in the church, Sister Joan spoke on June 30 in Dublin at the first international conference for women's ordination groups around the world.  She had attended the conference with the blessing of her superior, Prioress Christine Vladimiroff, and all but one of the 128 nuns in her community, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pa. Vladimiroff had refused Vatican orders that she forbid Chittister to attend the conference, and the other sisters signed a letter of support, as did 22 convents of Benedictine women in North America.  Sister Joan said she acted in the Benedictine tradition against blind obedience. “I was not trying to be defiant," she said. "I was genuinely committed to the notion that silence and silencing is not good for the church."

During her 50 years as a nun, Sister Joan has been any thing but silent. A theologian and social psychologist, she is the author of 21 books and has traveled the world lecturing and teaching.  Her most recent book, The Friendship of Women explores the sacred dimension of friendship through the Iens of faith, tradition, scripture, and the often overlooked experience of women.  Her other books include Job's Daughters, Passion for Life, In Search of Belief and Heart of Flesh: a Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men, and the beautifully written and illustrated The Story of Ruth: Twelve Moments in Every Woman's Life.  Author Barbara Brown Taylor writes about The Story of Ruth: "With characteristic wit and spitfire, Joan Chittister has written a book for anyone challenged by loss, change, aging, or invisibility. Basing her reflection on the lives of two marginal biblical women (Ruth and Naomi), she reveals their central roles as mothers of fate and dares all their descendants -- both daughters and sons -- to follow their lead.”

The Thomas Merton Center is excited about the opportunity to honor this remarkable woman. “As a consistent voice for peace and disarmament, social justice issues, and women’s equality, Sr. Joan is a role model for all peacemakers during this difficult time in our nation’s history,” according to Bonnie DiCarlo, Thomas Merton Center Board Member and Chair of the 2001 Dinner Committee.