Volunteer for Life:
A Conversation with Sister Montiel Rosenthal
April 2001

Jill: I think people have misconceptions about both physicians and nuns.

Sister Montiel: No kidding.

So what's the biggest misconception about physicians?

That we fit into only one personality type when, in fact, there are as many types of personalities among doctors as there are among patients. American doctors do tend to be competition oriented, but the training system encourages and selects for that. It's true that big money seduces some doctors, but worrying about how my stocks are doing has never been part of my world.

And the biggest misconceptions about nuns?

That we're not normal women, and that to be a nun you have to be perfect. Some people think the call to be a nun is a "higher calling," but it's not higher; it's just different. It is also a calling to be a good mother or a productive single person. We live different lives than most people because we don't marry, have children, own a home, have independent wealth, and we live communally. It takes a special type of person to be a nun, just like it takes a special type of person to be a mom. Also, some people think women become nuns because they are running away from something. Maybe some do, but I think that "In the world, but not of the world" is more appropriate. We live in the world, but our morality does not depend upon what culture we are in.

Were you called first to be a nun or a physician?

It happened around the same time. But, I didn't know if I could do both at the same time—many people I talked to said I would have to choose because they thought the two were incompatible. The Roman Catholic Church used to consider medicine to be an "indelicate profession", and not fitting for religious women.

Tell a story that typifies the best about Armenia.

I've been the beneficiary of some wonderfully gracious hospitality. This is in terms of physical presence, stories told, and Armenian humor. There is also a gracious loss of a sense of time--that time spent together is what is important, not time in itself. There is a sharing of perspective on the world, Armenia, and family—and I would say, hope for the future

And a story typical of frustration in Armenia?

I saw a grandmother whose breast was rock hard from a tumor, and she had back pain as well, so it most probably had spread to the spine. It would have cost 10,000 dram for an Armenian physician just to examine her--money she didn't have. There is a lot of unnecessary suffering because of things like this. Also, in Armenia, it is taboo to tell the patient he or she has cancer--only the family is told. They speak euphemistically about "the swelling" but don't say cancer. I think it prolongs the grieving process for the families. Dying people need to be able to say goodbye. Part of this is my own cultural/personal bias, but I think it causes more grief and dysfunction in the other family members because they need to say goodbye too, and can't.

You've met Pope John Paul II. What's he like?

Intelligent, prayerful, determined. He takes the weight of his position very seriously, and he is hopeful for the future. He is also a child of his own background and upbringing. He was orphaned at a young age and became of age at a time when it wasn't safe to say what you meant—he grew up and learned to operate under Nazi and Soviet domination. In Poland, they love him. The Polish nuns pray for him fiercely, and maybe that's part of the reason he has lasted so long.

How would you describe yourself?

An unabashedly Christian American woman. A Sister of Charity whose passion is to help people and things grow. I'm a sucker for the underdog. I enjoy learning new things. Did you have a nickname in school? No, not in school, but in my community, they call me MacGyver. Duct tape and Super Glue go a long way.

If you had to choose another occupation, what would it be?

I was going to be a research and interpretive naturalist. I had it planned out that I was going to graduate school in migratory ornithology, get married, move to the mountains of Eastern Virginia, and have three kids. I started changing my mind when I was about 16.
You've taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. What's the toughest to keep?

No question. Obedience.


   Sister Montiel Rosenthal is a Catholic nun and family physician. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1959. She has lived and worked in Gyumri, Armenia for three years.