Profoundly stated!
(Fr. Wilson is an associate pastor at St. Luke’s Parish in Whitestone, N.Y.)
I taught computer classes (grades 1 through 8) at St. Luke's for 3 years!! There were still 2 teaching nuns there at that time. One of them taught 1st grade. I WILL NEVER FORGET one of the first fire drills I experienced, after being assigned to their school. (My employer was retained by the school to set up a computer lab and provide an instructor ... me.) There was no advance warning; the alarm went off and the other teachers knew the routine. They filed their classes outside, across the street and into the school's parking lot. My classroom was empty, so I simply observed from my window.
Across the street, I could see that the teachers had organized their students into neat and tidy lines. While scanning this scene of well behaved children in school uniforms, I caught sight of the First Grade nun reprimanding a little scofflaw. As I watched, she proceded to grab his tie and physically lift him up off the ground. I gasped! The boy, undaunted, returned to his place in the line; he never tried those antics again. Can you imagine the ramifications if a public school teacher were to do that today? Lol! I later learned from several of the parents that they specifically asked the school principal to place their child in sister's class. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this aged nun is still teaching and 'correcting' misbehavior in her students.