Unsplash/Suhyeon Choi
by Tinamarie Stolz
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A 20-something raging extrovert walks into a Benedictine monastery.
Sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn't it? Well, it actually happened. I, Tinamarie Stolz, a 20-something raging extrovert, walked through the doors of Mount Saint Benedict Monastery in Erie and began a 10-week internship with Sr. Joan Chittister, a Catholic feminist nun.
I knew two things walking through those doors:
1. The church needs to eliminate gender stereotypes so young women can develop into the fullness of who God made them to be;
2. Progressive religious sisters are imperative to the spiritual health of young Catholic women and the official church.
How did I end up interning for a Catholic feminist nun?
I grew up in a warm, practicing Catholic family. At 3 years old, I could not understand my mother's concern about me hugging strangers in the grocery store because Jesus clearly said to love everybody.
And I always knew girls were powerful. I have a distinct memory from third-grade gym class. My male teacher, whom I adored, said, "We're playing basketball today. Make sure you guard each guy."
I blurted out, "Or girl!"
He looked me in the eyes, and with a genuine awareness of the stand I took, replied, "That's right, or girl! I apologize."
It was the first time I vocalized anything feminist, and a man I admired praised me for it.
