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Anorak News | All Bar Nun

All Bar Nun

by | 12th, December 2005

‘WE’VE had unisex hairdressers, mixed bathing and the French even have mixed toilets. Now read in the Times of the mixed nunnery.

Something for everyone

Such is the palsied state of the Roman Catholic Church that new ways are being thought up to encourage believers to join a religious order.

So the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany has opened up the world’s first convento misto in Rome.

At this haven of enlightenment, men and women who have taken religious orders work together, pray together and eat together.

Unlike the Cistercians, they are also free to talk together, engaging in discussions on the issues of the day, like the role of God, bio-ethics and Italy’s chances in the 2006 World Cup.

Other perks afforded to the 14 nuns and three friars are communal mobile phones, television and a uniform of grey hooded habits and thick light blue cardigans.

As Brother Paolo, the Father Superior at the Fraternity of Bethany, explains, mixed communities offer “the way forward”. He says that men and women together create “powerful positive energy”.

What those outside the Church may call sexual tension…’



Posted: 12th, December 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink