CMC a mafia with a few good goons: Sister Jesme

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Sister Jesme has compared the Congregation of Mother Carmel, which she left after being a nun for 33 years, to a 'mafia, with a few good goons.'

Sr. Jesme, author of  'Amen: The autobiography of a nun,'  was participating in a session on 'Behind cloisters- nunneries, seminaries and monasteries' at the Kerala architecture festival, 'Spaces Fest,' held at Kanakakunnu Palace here on Saturday.

She generated quite a stir at the session when moderator Saji asked her about the life behind the cloisters of a nunnery.

"There are many nuns who don't follow the principles of fasting and praying while a few do. If the few nuns who follow the norms correctly don't do it, they are dealt with stringently" said Sr. Jesme.

Referring to the Abhaya case, she said only one Abhaya case had come out in the open while many other similar incidents had happened involving priests. The court must decide whether Sr. Abhaya fell in the well or was pushed in, she added.

She also felt empathy towards the present-day nuns and pointed out that the lack of love caused such mistakes to happen.

Sr. Lucy Kalappurackal, who was expelled from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation at Karakkamala in Wayanad, did not make any controversial statements.

Moderator M. S. Saji asked her whether meditation in the monastery can be shared with the outside world. She said there are three different stages of meditation which a 'nun or a priest' can adopt with different amounts of public exposure.

"Taking principles out of the sacrifice of Christ created the three orders of Franciscan," she told DC.
She said that the idea of meditation as solitary was wrong.

Historian Ashraf Kadakkal spoke about the confusion between the Church denomination and its faith and how the denomination and its tradition have more power than the faith.

 He said that this happens when faith and denomination become one. He also explained how priests were freer than the nuns. Sister Jesme clarified that some monasteries put the priests on a tight leash.

"I wanted to help the poor people with the political power the monastery holds but the higher-ups won't allow that," concluded Sr. Jesme as she responded to Ashraf on how politics and the monastery get mixed.

 DC asked Sr. Jesme about the incident which forced her to leave the CMC and write the book, 'Amen: The autobiography of a nun.'

 "The Bengaluru event where I didn't want my naked body to be seen by a priest made me write it," she said. She is still hopeful of a change taking place in the various monasteries.