Tea at Trianon: Sisters on the Frontlines

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, October 18, 2019

Sisters on the Frontlines

From Zenit:

We are here to applaud work of sisters on the frontlines…

This praise was expressed by US Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, who hosted and organized along with the Embassy, the event held there, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, to recall ‘Women on the Frontlines,’ their second annual symposium to demonstrate how governments, civil society, and individuals can more effectively meet their goals and objectives in fragile communities and regions by partnering with women religious working on the frontlines. Those speaking were Sister Orla Treacy, of the Institute of Blessed Virgin Mary, working in South Sudan; Sister Crescencia Sun, of the Religieuses Notre Dame Des Missions (RNDM), working in India; and Sister Anne Falola, of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles (OLA).

Sister Orla Treacy, a 2019 U.S. Department of State International Woman of Courage honoree, was nominated for the award by Ambassador Gingrich in recognition of her work improving the lives of women and girls in Rumbek, South Sudan. Sister Patricia Murray, Executive Secretary of the Union of International Superiors General (UISG) and Ambassador Gingrich gave opening remarks, and Phil Pullella, Senior Italy and Vatican Correspondent for Reuters, moderated. All three worked or work in conflict and post-conflict communities in the fields of education, healthcare, and development.
Father Henry Lemoncelli, representing the Holy See’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, gave the closing remarks.

Ambassador Gingrich praised that women religious are “critical partners” in ensuring peace and understanding” and “promote and advance education, health, and development, often in conflict zones and other dangerous parts of the world.” Noting they are “vital,” “work tirelessly to promote human dignity and freedom” and often risk their lives, the Ambassador lamented that “too often their work is not recognized, or not appreciated.” (Read more.)