Joan Chittister Explained

Joan Chittister
Birth Name:Joan Daugherty
Birth Date:26 April 1936
Birth Place:DuBois, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma Mater:University of Notre Dame
Penn State University
Roman Catholic nun

Joan Daugherty Chittister, (born April 26, 1936[1]), is an American Benedictine nun, theologian, author,[2] and speaker. She has served as Benedictine prioress and Benedictine federation president, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women.

Biography

Early life

Chittister was born on April 26, 1936, to Daniel and Loretta Daugherty. Her father died when she was very young and her mother married Harold Chittister. Joan Chittister described her step-father as a violently abusive alcoholic.[3]

Education

She was educated by Sisters of St. Joseph, and later attended St. Benedict Academy in Erie, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor's degree in English at Mercyhurst University, graduating in 1962, a master's degree in communication arts from the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1968, and a Ph.D. in speech communication theory from Penn State University, graduating in 1971.[4] [5] She is also an elected fellow of St. Edmunds College at the University of Cambridge.

Career

Chittister entered religious life in 1957, at age 16.[6] [7] Within her first week, she contracted polio, which put her in an iron lung for several months; it took four years for her to fully recover.

In 1971, Chittister was elected president of the Federation of St. Scholastica, a federation of twenty monasteries of Benedictine women in the United States and Mexico, established in 1922.[8] She was a prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, for 12 years and is a past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. She serves as co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (2016–2019), an inclusive international network of spiritual and community leaders.[9] [10] With this organization, she works to bring a spiritual perspective to conflict resolution fueled by pressing economic and ecological crises across the globe.

Chittister says that women's ordination has never been her primary focus.[11] Her books deal with monasticism, justice and equality especially for women in church and society, interfaith topics, peace and others. She has won 16 Catholic Press Association awards for her books and numerous other awards for her work, including 12 honorary degrees from US universities.

She writes a column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand".[12]

Penn State University holds the Joan D. Chittister Literary Archives.[13]

A biography of Chittister was released by Orbis Books in October 2015, Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith by Tom Roberts.[14]

Controversies

Chittister's stances on contraception and women's ordination are known to contradict the official teachings of the Catholic Church.[15] [16] She was one of two nuns prohibited by Church authorities from attending the first Women's Ordination Worldwide conference on June 30, 2001. However, she not only attended, but gave the opening address.[17] In another instance, Chittister rejected the Church's strictures against the 23 nuns who ran an advertisement in the New York Times attacking the Church's teaching on abortion.

Bibliography

Chittister has authored over 50 books and over 700 articles in numerous journals and magazines including: America, US Catholic, Sojourners, Spirituality (Dublin), and The Tablet (London). She is a regular contributor to the National Catholic Reporter[18] and HuffPost, appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday in March 2015 and in May 2019,[19] on Meet the Press with Tim Russert and Now with Bill Moyers.

She is the executive director of "Benetvision",[20] a publications ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.

Recent publications

Joan Chittister: Essential Writings, a compilation from her best writing from books, articles and speeches, was published by Orbis Books in August 2014 (ed. Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB, Mary Hembrow Snyder, PhD).[21] In 2015, Dear Joan: conversations with women in the church was published by Garratt Publishing.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature. 2. Kurian. George Thomas. Smith. James D. III. Scarecrow Press. 2010. 252.
  2. Web site: NCR Author Profile . NCR . 2010-07-22 . 2010-12-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/20101221091051/http://ncronline.org/user/5 . December 21, 2010 .
  3. Web site: Joan Chittister. Cummings. Kathleen Sprows. Commonweal. April 25, 2016.
  4. Web site: Salai . Sean . 2014-09-10 . Faith and Justice: 14 Questions for Sister Joan Chittister OSB . 2024-04-09 . America Magazine . en.
  5. News: Roth . Mark . 2005-06-27 . A life dedicated to her faith, questioning its policies . 2024-04-08 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . A5.
  6. Web site: Hunter . Nathaniel . 2023-03-02 . The contemplative life is for everyone, says Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . U.S. Catholic . en-US.
  7. News: 1978-02-25 . Church puts down women with sexist language: Nun . The Montreal Gazette . 12 . Associated Press.
  8. https://www.federationofsaintscholastica.org/ Federation of St. Scholastica
  9. Web site: Joan Chittister. Global Sisters Report. en. 2019-05-03.
  10. Web site: About Us . 2019-05-03 . Global Peace Initiative Women . en.
  11. Web site: Grossman . Cathy Lynn . 2015-10-26 . Sister Joan Chittister, the dissident nun, shares her secret life . 2024-04-09 . Religion News Service . en-US.
  12. Web site: From Where I Stand . 2018-07-03 . National Catholic Reporter . en.
  13. Web site: Joan Chittister papers, 1971-2017 9468. libraries.psu.edu. en. 2018-07-03.
  14. Book: Roberts, Tom. Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith. Orbis Books. 2015. 9781626981980. Reprint . Maryknoll, NY. en.
  15. Web site: The Ordination of Women: A Question of Authority of Theology by Joan Chittister, O.S.B. . 2021-08-17 . www.womencanbepriests.org . en.
  16. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_22051994_ordinatio-sacerdotalis_en.html Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
  17. Web site: Full text of Sister Joan Chittister's Address at the Women's Ordination Worldwide conference in Dublin, June 30, 2001.. natcath.org. en. 2021-08-17.
  18. Web site: Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . National Catholic Reporter . en.
  19. Web site: 2019-05-27 . Super Soul Special: Sister Joan Chittister: The Time is Now . 2024-04-09 . Oprah.com.
  20. Web site: Benetvision . 2010-12-26 . www.benetvision.org.
  21. Web site: Joan Chittister: Essential Writings. Noble. Barnes &. Barnes & Noble. en. 2018-07-03.
  22. Book: Morales, Rosanna . Dear Joan Chittister: Conversations with Women in the Church . 2015 . Garratt Publishing . 978-1-925009-16-3 . en.
  23. Web site: The Time Is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage by Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . www.publishersweekly.com.
  24. Web site: Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life by Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . www.publishersweekly.com.
  25. Web site: Between the Dark and the Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life by Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . www.publishersweekly.com.
  26. Web site: Uncommon Gratitude: Alleluia for All That Is by Joan Chittister, Rowan Williams . 2024-04-09 . www.publishersweekly.com.
  27. Web site: The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully by Joan Chittister . 2024-04-09 . www.publishersweekly.com.

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