Please, Sisters! Save our planet!

I noted on the site of the BBC that obese people are contributing to the world food crisis and climate change.

This is such a worrisome problem that the Sisters of St. Francis in Philadelphia have decided to go after McDonalds.

Since the nuns are global, and since they are so deeply concerned about the environment, it seems to me that the Leadership

Conference of Women Religious (LCWR – a subsidiary of the Magisterium of Nuns) could both satisfy the concerns of the Holy See and help to save the planet, were they to to change their agenda for the August Assembly and ask all the sisters to lose weight.

A nun has a Big Mac Combo in Milwaukee and a Ethiopian child goes hungry because of global warming!

Come on, sisters! Save the planet!

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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30 Comments

  1. Supertradmum says:

    These sisters have never lived out their vows of poverty and have not a clue as to real poverty, which may mean that the only solid meal one may have in a few days is a McDonald’s, especially for those who do not have kitchens.

    I am sick of the liberal righteousness which misses the fact that charity is only worthwhile if from the Heart of Christ Himself. [Part of Pope Benedict’s point in Deus caritas est.] Real charity is helping the person right in front of you, who is in great need, who may be lonely, afraid, hungry or cold.

    They haven’t a clue.

  2. dominicansoul says:

    The Church’s first and foremost mission is to save souls, not the planet. One of the many things that got skewed after Vatican II for these “religious” was their identities. They have successfully removed themselves as being “brides of Christ.” As soon as they were able to seperate themselves from that identity, they seperated themselves from the responsibilities that come with such an identity. [And that, friend, is what Sr. Sandra Schneiders has been pushing for years.] But without that identity, they have no business even taking vows or calling themselves religious sisters.

  3. Matt R says:

    Fr Z, you should have pitched your ‘Save the Liturgy, Save the World’ swag in this post.

  4. Matt R: What a great idea!

    Click HERE and by my swag!

  5. Justin Martyr says:

    From the picture above, maybe we should re-think the popular “Sister Pantsuit” moniker and instead start referring to some of these ladies as “Sister Capris” or “Sister Crops”…

  6. JLCG says:

    It is not very charitable to mock people either because of their looks or their ideas.
    The Holy See will correct them if they have strayed .

  7. Widukind says:

    If the LCWR is a subsidiary of the MON (Magisterium of Nuns), then
    would each religious community not be a franchise? and the leader
    / owner not be the chief cook? Maybe the LCWR could market itself –
    if they get serious about this hamburger protest – through the use of
    a mascot – Sister Ronalda McDonald? (With no need to change the costume as
    the red wig and pants would suit her fine.) Oh, and then they can borrow
    the “Nuns on the Run” bus and take it nationwide ………….. and lead everyone
    to to the Golden Arches.

  8. JonPatrick says:

    I received a mailing today from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. The contrast with the LCWR and their ilk is night and day:

    Over 270 sisters, median age is 35, 61% of the sisters are under 40.

    Under their mission they list “To spread the faith through a teaching apostolate rooted in contemplative union with Christ” and “Living a regular life of prayer in common, centered in the Eucharist and devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. In their educational mission they emphasize religious instruction and sacramental preparation “forming students in love for Christ and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

    It is good to know orders like this are the future of the church, not the LCWR.

    Jon

    [They are not worried about Al Gore’s message about the planet? Are you sure they are really “sisters”?]

  9. Dismas says:

    Being an all-male dominated town, should it come as any surprise the sisters have also taken their social justice agenda to McDonaldland putting Mayor McCheese, Officer BigMac and Happy Meals in their sights? Lastest unconfirmed reports indicate Grimace, Hamburglar, and Captain Crook have joined their cause and pledged their support.

    [Wow. Just wow. Why didn’t I see that patriarchal angle before? The sisters are even more prophetic than I first thought. Thanks!]

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  10. tzard says:

    Anyone been to Mcdonalds recently? There are tons of choices which are not fries and burgers. In fact, at my local one, a salad is *less expensive* than fries. McDonalds also doing lots of “sustainable” initiatives (e.g. Palm oil from sustainable farms, not the rainforest) and being successful at it.

    They’re choosing these things themseles – and still making profits.

  11. tzard: They’re choosing these things themseles – and still making profits.

    Ooooo… evil profits.

    Big companies should be forced to employ lots of people and give them lots of benefits without having to work many hours, all while never actually making any money. To save the planet we need to redistribute income until it is equal for everyone! That way, when there are at last no large companies or jobs left, and enough people have died off from starvation, and we have returned to be gatherers and hunters (but never of animal flesh) the planet will have been saved from man… and I emphasize man.

  12. Cricket says:

    Getting a little harsh, Father. With all due respect. Caritas…

  13. Northern Ox says:

    Personally, I’m wondering how many hydrocarbons and how much CO2 are being emitted by their bus as they tour across half the country — all to show their opposition for a budget proposal that was never going to be adopted anyway.

    Now THAT’S an efficient use of our grandchildren’s shrinking supply of scarce natural resources. I hope they’re using bio-diesel.

  14. wmeyer says:

    If a person wishes to be taken seriously in a discussion of economic principles, ’twere best he have some understanding of those principles. Profit is what makes business operate. It is also the signal which controls production. It is not evil. Must we, in the name of caritas, accept all comments? That is the PC path, by which right and wrong are considered abstract concepts.

  15. MBeauregard says:

    JonPatrick: I know exactly what you mean! I just logged off of a great community of Benedictine Sisters in Jonesboro, Arkansas: http://www.olivben.org Has anyone else noticed that you can easily tell the theological stance of any community by just observing their online home pages?

  16. tzard says:

    Just to clarify – I wasn’t at all supporting the sister’s bullying efforts. I was pointing out that singling out McDonalds is because they’re a big target and profitable – not because of anything to do with “saving the planet”. Let us remember that “saving the planet” is a good when it helps humans.

    Of course there’s the other aspect of this – coercive morality. Nobody should have the free will to choose a burger every so often.

  17. jflare says:

    When nuns quit behaving like half-wit activists and start demonstrating intent to take life seriously, THEN I’ll listen to what they have to say.

  18. Mariana says:

    “Personally, I’m wondering how many hydrocarbons and how much CO2 are being emitted by their bus as they tour across half the country….”

    Save the planet – become a cloistered sister!

  19. Fr Deacon Daniel says:

    I can’t help it, but whenever I hear about the LCWR, I have this song playing in the back of mind…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE589gkOYz0&feature=related

    Lord help the mister, indeed! :-)

  20. acardnal says:

    How old are you Fr. Deacon Daniel? :-0

  21. Fr Deacon Daniel says:

    Old enough to appreciate the classics!

    “When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome, she wore the dress and I stayed home…”

  22. acardnal says:

    “Ideas” have consequences. If they are stupid or silly, they should be criticized – particularly if they have been placed in the public square.

  23. acardnal says:

    LCWR June 18 Statement:
    “Since the release of the findings in April, some Vatican officials and US bishops have publicly claimed that the report is not a reflection on all US Catholic sisters and is directed only to LCWR, the organization of leaders. The board noted that the actions of CDF are keenly felt by the vast majority of Catholic sisters who have elected, and therefore feel a close identity with, their leaders. Moreover, the statements and gestures of solidarity from men religious and from conferences of Catholic sisters in other countries, as well as the letters and petitions from thousands of lay supporters worldwide, indicate that many others are also concerned about how to live as people of faith in the complexities of these times. The concerns they have shared with LCWR will be part of the conference’s discernment of its response to the CDF report.”

    It appears they just don’t get it.

  24. I am cutting out all the comments that suggest that I am picking on fat people… because I am a mean dictator and because the comments demonstrate that the people who wrote them entirely missed the point…. to put it nicely.
    o{]:¬)

  25. Girgadis says:

    I like to be careful never to throw out the baby with the bath water. I know some of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. They still work every day in the hospital they founded and that includes a few nuns well into their 80’s. They’re not living in poverty, but they’re not living in the lap of luxury either. Believe me, I have no doubt this order has its share of liberal whacky nuns. But I have to say on behalf of the few that I know well that they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty doing direct patient care. You can tell that the old, good sister is still there beneath the secular appearance. I just wish sisters like these weren’t in the minority of nuns belonging to the LCWR.

  26. AnnAsher says:

    Wow.
    You know we don’t have to choose between socialism and a return to hunt/gather or obese capitalism. There is subsidiarity and Distributism. Not to be confused with communism. But as was intended for our nation that the people would be free and have means to provide for ourselves. Industrialization is ( as Belloc and Chesterton noted) going to fail. And thank God!

  27. magister63 says:

    Oh, the flatulence! Imagine what the LCWR conference will produce in August! God spare us!

  28. jaykay says:

    I’m surprised they haven’t mentioned the polar bears… y’know, those cuddly, peaceful, furry, uber-photogenic vegetarians on the brink of extinction because they’re constantly being clubbed to death by McDonald’s ninja hit-squads funded by Big Oil and the Military Industrial Complex and The Man and … (insert bogeyman of choice from your fondly remembered glory days of the 60s)

    This man has it right, however:
    http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=197

  29. Supertradmum says:

    Father Z. thanks for the reference to the Pope’s encyclical. I know you do not have time to look at second-rate blogs, but over a month ago, I did a series on that encyclical. There are some writings of this Pope which one can return to over and over again. I wonder if the sisters bother to read anything out of the male dominated Vatican. And, there are more than one McDonald’s in Rome…http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckroes/2806748592/

    Can’t imagine Cardinal Bertone is one, however. Maybe, Cardinal Burke, feeling homesick…

    I have not had a hamburger for months….maybe the Magisterium of Nuns would like to start a charity for non-communist women deprived of hamburgers…. [Do they help non-Communist women? BTW… I use to stop once in a while at the McD’s at the nearby Pantheon, when in a hurry or just when in the mood.]

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