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By Priscilla Greear
ATLANTA—As an emergency room chaplain at Grady Hospital for
eight years, Sister Nora Ryan, OP, saw and prayed with many dying of AIDS. She
recalls praying with John, a Catholic and a homosexual, who was dying of AIDS,
and longed for reconciliation with his father just before his death.
He called his father from the hospital. After hanging up, he wept,
Sister Ryan recalled. His father, who had rejected him, could never say he
loved him.
“We prayed that he could understand his earthly father and
asked his heavenly Father to remove his (father’s) indifference or
fear.”
The man died and his father came to the hospital to see if his son
had received the sacraments before he died and been “saved.”
“John indeed had been,” she said. “He had seen a
priest. But I always felt the father missed a great opportunity for the kind of
reconciliation that his son really desired. He missed the opportunity for the
reconciliation that his son really yearned for. That’s what he truly
missed. That’s why we need to break down barriers. That’s our
challenge.”
Sister Ryan spoke with many AIDS patients in the emergency room.
“The sad part was many died alone, isolated from a caring family or
church—and some feeling shame and a sense of not belonging,” she
said.
With memories of John and others still with her, the Sinsinawa
Dominican sister is ready to take on the challenge of AIDS ministry in the new
archdiocesan position in Catholic Charities of HIV/AIDS coordinator, which she
began in August.
“I’m very grateful for the support of Archbishop (John
F.) Donoghue and the welcoming spirit that I have experienced at the Catholic
Center. It’s very comforting to work in a place where there’s mutual
respect and interest shown.”
Her job has pastoral and educational elements, including working
with parishes, clients, families and interfaith groups, and providing referrals
and spiritual and emotional support. She’ll coordinate parish-based
workshops and healing and prayer services, and provide resources for specific
events like the AIDS Walk.
Her first goal was reactivating the archdiocesan AIDS task force,
which was commissioned by Archbishop Donoghue as the HIV/AIDS Ministry Advisory
Committee on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
“With the help of the advisory committee, I hope to help
coordinate parish-based services, workshops, educational programs (and) to
build cooperative relationships with other agencies in the community that focus
on prevention (of) and education on AIDS,” she said. “I look forward
to now working on parish-based services and coordinating the clergy AIDS
education day on March 6 at (the Cathedral of) Christ the King. I want to reach
out to the Latino and Asian and other communities and I hope to entice many of
these communities to volunteer and take leadership.”
Sister Ryan was asked by Catholic Charities to take the position
after retiring from Grady where she worked from 1992-2000.
Then the seasoned and cheerful sister, who wouldn’t give her
age, took a sabbatical year where she enjoyed “things I always dreamed
about,” like taking a train to California, going to Yosemite National Park
and pursuing activities like sewing and gardening. With a master’s degree
in special education in learning disabilities and another in theological
studies and pastoral ministry, she has worked for 14 years as an elementary
school teacher, eight as a school consultant, five as a principal and five as a
pastoral associate, mainly in the Southeast. She worked for three years as
pastoral assistant at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School in Atlanta before
starting at Grady.
While she has spent a lifetime in pastoral work, getting educated
on HIV/AIDS is more challenging. She has been doing a lot of reading about the
disease and attending workshops to inform herself and develop both a local and
global perspective.
Father T.J. Meehan said the task force was led by Father Alan
Dillmann from about 1987-92 and then Father Meehan coordinated the task force
and AIDS ministry from 1995-99. In January he asked through the Priests Council
that the position be reestablished and recommended Sister Ryan with whom he had
worked for four years at Grady. In recommending her to the council, he wrote,
“She was greatly valued by the staff and patients at Grady for the entire
eight years she performed in this difficult task. She has a special love for
the poor and sick, and an ease at relating to them. She also is proud of her
Religious calling, while showing exceptional ecumenical sensitivity.”
She hopes parishes will show that ecumenical sensitivity and more
members will get involved in remembrance of loved ones who have died of AIDS
and in support of those living with it and the initiatives to help them. She
will help parishes “to be creative in their approach and reach beyond just
their parish boundaries and realize that there’s a great need for
education if we are to save our future generations from an epidemic of a
disease that could have been contained through education.”
She believes her biggest challenge will be to get Catholics, while
keeping their values, to reach out to all people they meet with AIDS without
judgment.
“The AIDS epidemic is a complex issue with no simple answer,
but the Gospel tells us Jesus went out to those who society chose to abandon.
He offered compassion and hope, not judgment. This reminds us that
unconditional love is the best gift we can offer one another.”
Sister Ryan believes that the advisory committee will take the
former task force to the next level and work “for more collaboration
between parishes and making it a total archdiocesan effort so that parishes
don’t feel like they’re isolated in their task.” As not all
parishes involved in AIDS ministry have representatives on the committee,
she’s eager to get out to visit them.
“They’ve been doing a great job. I’ve admired what
many of the churches have endeavored to accomplish at times with very few
volunteers and (I’ve) felt their support and need of support.”
For information call Sister Ryan at (404) 885-7207. |
