A ‘Public’ admission

It’s a new year—some like to think of it as a clean slate. But I think I’m going to get in trouble again. Glance down toward the bottom of this column; the image there is sure to enflame some emotions.

But perhaps because it’s a new year, I’ll try to explain, for all the good it’ll do. But I can’t help myself. I’m a Public.

For those of you who didn’t grow up in the 1940s and ’50s, that nun-with-ruler stereotype is something you may have heard about but never experienced. (Many people — even nuns — from that era also never experienced it.)

I’m a Public because I went to public grammar school, not parochial school. Even though I went to a Catholic prep, that doesn’t qualify me. Neither does years of hanging around the local parish’s high school looking wistfully at what my school lacked: girls.

The “public” thing came up when my wife and I attended “Late Nite Catechism,” that long-running play which celebrates (yes, it does!) Catholic education of a generation or two ago, honors (yes, again!) the much-put-upon nuns who populated those schools and reminds us how much the world has changed—and not always for the better.

The popular play was created here in Chicago but has worked its way around the country. It’s called “interactive theater” as the one-Sister play manages to involve the class … er… audience. I hadn’t seen the entire production before, only snippets. Many parishes and organizations bring the play in for fund-raising purposes.

We visited “Late Nite’s” new location at the Crossroads Theater in suburban Naperville. At the mention of “Publics,” my wife poked me mercilessly. Though she most assuredly is NOT a public, during the show she managed to get herself into trouble with Sister—albeit intentionally. I suspect she got in trouble as a kid, too. I, on the other hand, managed to acquire through good behavior a very special glow-in-the-dark praying hands pencil-sharpener. And a lesson in values, which were at the core of the long-ago classes.

Mary McHale, who played the stern sister in the stage “classroom,” even put a good adult spin on some of the theology we had been taught as children.

“Late Nite” sometimes gets a bad rap from those who say the stereotype dishonors those who were schoolteachers to generations of Catholics.

But it just isn’t true. While perhaps not universal, the stereotype exists because it happened to many people. But it’s not a painful memory; those who learned, really learned, and a generation was richer for it.

Besides, the performances of “Late Nite Catechism” include a strong plug to support the Retirement Fund for Retired Religious, an effort which has brought in about a $1 million in 10 years.

About that trouble I mentioned at the tope of this column: I had adapted the nun-with-the-ruler image to “guilt” people into subscribing to TCNW. I apologized after I managed to upset any number of sisters from any number of congregations who said the stereotype was a myth. OK, I apologize again. But I won’t tell you who gave me the image (actually, it’s a “clicker;” remember those?) replicated here, except to say it’s a very proper nun with a sense of humor.

For information on “Late Nite Catechism,” call (630) 428-4730.

Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager