Joan Chittister
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Sister Joan D. Chittister (born 26 April 1936) is an American Benedictine nun and writer.
Sister Joan is an author (35 books) and an international lecturer on topics concerning women, the poor, peace and justice, and contemporary issues in church and society.
Her most recent books include: The Ten Commandments, laws of the heart; The Tent of Abraham, stories of hope and peace for Jews, Christians and Muslims; In Search of Belief; Called to Question and The Friendship of Women: the hidden tradition of the Bible. She has won seven Catholic Press Association Awards for her books.
She writes a weekly web column for the National Catholic Reporter: From Where I Stand: [1]
In 2006 she was an invited panalist on "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert; in 2004, a guest on "Now with Bill Moyers," and during the Papal funeral and election in April 2005, she was a commentator for the BBC from Rome.
She is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, where she served as prioress of the community for 12 years. Sister Joan is the founder and current executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality that is also located in Erie. She is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a UN-sponsored organization of women faith leaders, working for peace, especially in the Middle East.
Critics cite her stance on abortion and women's ordination as contradicting Catholic teaching.
Sister Joan has received eleven honorary doctorates and numerous awards, including the US Catholic magazine award for Furthering the Cause of Women in the Church, the Thomas Merton Award by the Merton Center and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State University.
She received her masters degree from the University of Notre Dame and her doctorate in speech-communication theory from Penn State University. She also served a year as an invited-fellow at Cambridge University in England.
