Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

provided by

This clip shows Mother Superior (Sandy Gore) inviting the nuns of the fictitious Santo Spirito Convent School to discuss the possible changes in Roman Catholic religious life suggested by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). The scene soon focuses on Sister Catherine (Josephine Byrnes), who sees the Vatican guidelines as an opportunity to sweep away what she sees as the more obsolete practices of religious life. Sister Agnes (Brenda Fricker) then emerges as the second protagonist as she rejects the idea that any of their practices need to be reformed.

Educational value points

• Although a work of the imagination, part of a television miniseries, the scenes in the clip may represent the ways in which some Roman Catholic religious communities grappled with the decisions of the Second Vatican Council about how they should live and organise themselves. The Council decisions were proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in 1965 in his 'Decree on the adaptation and renewal of religious life’, known as 'Perfectae caritatis’.

• Skilful editing and direction build tension in the clip as the discussion in the convent escalates into an argument. Reverse-angle shots reveal Sister Catherine and Mother Ambrose as allies against the more conservative sisters. The busyness of the three nuns opening the window may suggest their flustered reaction to the idea of the reforms being presented.

• One of the vows made by nuns was 'obedience’, which usually meant unquestioning obedience to their superiors, but 'Perfectae caritatis’ set a new direction when it called upon superiors to 'gladly listen to their subjects’ (http://www.vatican.va). Accustomed to their traditional obedience, almost all the nuns in the clip are nonplussed when Mother Ambrose actually asks them for suggestions about what practices they are interested in reforming.

• All the changes suggested by Sister Catherine are backed up by 'Perfectae caritatis’. In relation to 'garments’, the papal decree says 'The religious habit … should be simple and modest … In addition it must meet the requirements of health and be suited to the circumstances of time and place … The habits of both men and women religious which do not conform to these norms must be changed’ (http://www.vatican.va). The habits seen in the clip were in fact changed.

• Over the centuries a number of practices, usually those falling under the heading of obedience, had grown up in religious life, and among the most demeaning was 'the chapter of faults’ mentioned in the clip. This was a regular event, usually monthly, where members of a religious community gathered together and each confessed publicly to their faults. In some religious orders if a member did not confess the others were obliged to accuse them of faults.

• The 'great silence’, identified by Sister Catherine in the clip as one of the 'barnacles’ on religious life, had its authority drawn from the Bible and was intended to help the members of a Roman Catholic religious community enter more fully into the life of prayer by remaining silent for long periods. The 'great silence’ usually lasted all night, although in some orders, such as the Trappists, the commitment to silence was greater than the observance usually required.

• Set in the 1960s, the Brides of Christ miniseries shows the effect of changes in society and of the upheaval in the Roman Catholic church brought about by Vatican II. Produced by Sue Masters and Penny Chapman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, its six episodes traced changes in the lives of the girls attending the convent school and the nuns running it. Brides of Christ was one of the great successes of Australian television in the 1990s.

Mother Superior and the nuns of the Santo Spirito Convent School are seated around a long wooden table.
Mother Superior Sister Catherine and I have made up a set of notes for each of you precising the Vatican guidelines on change. But before we even look at them, I need to hear from all of you the sort of things you’re interested in.
Sister Paul I don’t know. I think we should just have a little bit more fun. You know, like maybe play bingo twice a week. Something like that.
Mother Superior Come on. Someone! Catherine?
Sister Catherine I have made some personal notes.
Sister Paul Oh heavens, we’ll be here all day.
Sister Catherine I realise it’s a bit daunting suddenly being invited to examine our lives under a microscope and take responsibility for what may be the consequences. But once you get over the initial shock, I think it’s pretty exciting. It’s a chance to rediscover the importance of what we do, in a contemporary world. To let go of all the irrelevant junk from the past. What the Vatican is asking us to do is get back to basics.
Sister Paul Such as?
Sister Catherine The gospels. Generating the spirit of Christ’s life in the world in which we live. These should be the wellsprings of our religious life, not…
Sister Agnes Not what?
Sister Catherine Not all the layers of myth and ritual which have encrusted our lives like barnacles on the bottom of a ship.
Sister Agnes What barnacles?
Sister Agnes gets up to open a window in the room.
Sister Catherine Basic things, like … like our garments, and certain practices within the order. The bridal ceremonies at the novices’ reception. The great silence. The chapter of faults.
Sister Agnes The fact that those things are old does not make them barnacles. They have stood the test of time. They help us, ah, less sophisticated members of the community, keep our faith more strongly. They are a means, not an end. No-one confuses them with the really important things like the word of God, as it’s revealed in scripture. Why should we throw these things out just because you don’t like them?