In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith 2007
Distributed by Out of the Blue Films, 799 Broadway Suite 609, New York, NY 10003; 212-477-2211
Produced by Barbara Rick
Directed by Barbara Rick
DVD, color, 82 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Gay and Lesbian Studies, Religious Studies, Homosexuality, Catholic Church
Date Entered: 06/20/2008
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgIn Good Conscience is the story of how a “good little nun” came to minister gay and lesbian Catholics and along the way defied the future Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1971 a gay friend of Sister Jeannine Gramick asked her what she was doing for gay and lesbian Catholics. The documentary is testament to her work ever since.
Though the man subsequently died of AIDS, Sister Jeannine’s work has incorporated many who had felt excluded. Attracting the scrutinous eye of the Vatican can almost never be a good thing. Then Cardinal Ratzinger, not known for his tolerance, condemned Sister Jeannine’s work as “doctrinally unacceptable.” Notably criticized and banned from pastoral work with Catholic gays and lesbians, she forged ahead. She quietly refused to reject the people she felt needed to be treated like everyone else in the Church. It is actually a tribute to her good conscience and effectiveness that she drew such attention and concern from the Church hierarchy. When directly ordered by her Mother Superior to stop her ministry she left the Sisters of Notre Dame and joined the Sisters of Loreto, known for their pioneer spirit and equal treatment of women. When she is asked to explain her convictions she, like Christ, uses simple yet convincing analogies.
Unlike a Michael Moore-like documentary that hits you over and over with a machine gun of facts/opinions with which one may or may not agree, In Good Conscience allows Sister Jeannine to tell her story simply with an uncluttered narrative. Sister calmly points out the gay and lesbian Catholics who wish to remain in the Catholic Church, and the many churches that accept GLBT families despite the Vatican decrees. Like all great teachers, she teaches by example that one must not be silent, but speak the truth, and that truth will prevail. The documentary is a portrait of a woman who is determined and knows no fear. Gentle and polite, she disarms even the angriest without being confrontational. Like Sister Jeannine Gramick herself, In Good Conscience both impresses and educates. Highly recommended for all libraries.