Sister Deirdre Byrne’s life story is very fascinating. After Fr. James Martin and Sister Simone Campbell participated in the Democratic convention, it was the turn of Cardinal Dolan and Sister Deirdre Byrne in the Republican convention.
Newsdesk (August 27, 2020 Gaudium Press) — The recent interventions of clergymen in the party conventions in the USA have been very much in evidence and have had many reverberations for a number of reasons: the importance of the upcoming elections, the great division that exists in American opinion, the virulence of the debate, and the prominence of the religious protagonists.
After the participation of the controversial Fr. James Martin, who delivered an invocation and then a blessing at the Democratic convention, and Sister Simone Campbell – who states that abortion should not be criminalized – it was the turn of the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, and Sister Deirdre Byrne to attend the Republican convention.
There was no shortage of criticism for Cardinal Dolan’s attendance at the convention that would proclaim the ‘terrible’ Trump a candidate. He simply replied that his obligation as a priest was to respond positively to anyone who invited him to pray; and that he would ask God’s blessings without any political or partisan encouragement. Period.
A tremendously interesting character
But of all four, the most interesting character, given the novelty of her current role, is Sister Byrne.
It is not at all common that three conditions, which otherwise have characteristics in common, meet in the same individual: a surgeon, a colonel and a religious. All this is Sister Deirdre Byrne, who belongs to the Community of the Little Workers of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The nun was born in Washington, among the children the only girl among six boys.
She began her medical studies in Georgetown, but joined the army as a way to continue paying for her studies. There she served for 29 years, working as a physician and surgeon, reaching the rank of colonel; she went to the Sinai, deployed three times in Afghanistan, and on her last mission in that country, already as a member of the reserve, she was ordered to retire from the army.
But although she wore the military uniform, she felt that her destiny was that of a religious.
In 2002 she joined her congregation, making her first vows in 2004. She liked the Community of the Little Workers because she could also engage in her medical apostolate.
“After much prayer and contemplation, I entered my religious order in 2002, working to serve the poor and the sick in Haiti, Sudan, Kenya, Iraq and Washington, D.C.,” Sister Byrne said at the Republican convention.
She says she has met poor and marginalized people from many places and that they all share in being considered insignificant, powerless and voiceless.
But “the truth is that the largest marginalized group in the world is here in the United States: it is the unborn.
“I am not just pro-life: I am pro-eternal life”
With no reservations, Sister Byrnes showed her support for Trump. And she gave her reasons:
“Keep in mind that the laws we create define how we see our humanity. We must ask ourselves: What are we saying when we enter the womb and snuff out an innocent, powerless, voiceless life? As a physician, I can say without hesitation: Life begins at conception.
“While what I have to say may be difficult for some to hear, I say it because I am not just pro-life: I am pro-eternal life and I want us all to end up in heaven together someday.
“Which brings me to the reason I’m here today. Donald Trump is the most pro-life president this nation has ever had, defending life at all stages. His belief in the sanctity of life transcends politics. President Trump will stand up against Biden-Harris, who are the most anti-life presidential ticket ever, even supporting the horrors of late-term abortion and infanticide.”
She said that Trump has earned the support of the pro-life community in the U.S. and that he also holds a position of support for religion. She offered her prayers for Trump, and told him that he can count on the use of her favorite ‘weapon of choice’: the rosary.
It seems that the nun-colonel is back on a battlefield.
With information from Infocatolica and PBS News Hour.
Related Images:
