medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> disability/illness/deformity and the Catholic religious life: weren't
> Catholic religious orders refusing admittance to people with these things
> until very recently -- and this may still be the practice as far as I
know)?
> IIRC the reasoning was along the lines of God only wants people perfect
in
> body without blemish (I think there's something in the Hebrew Bible about
> who may or may not enter the Temple)? And it might tie into those ancient
Although this may have been listed as a spiritual reason in Medieval times,
I don't think I've ever seen a reference to it. I think that the matter is
much more a practical one: each order is looking for able people to carry on
its "work": taking responsibility for the care of a disabled or ill person
can be quite a strain on the order. Historically, the orders would have
been quickly swamped with those who were either chronically ill or disabled,
if they hadn't had fairly strict admission requirements.
Looking at it from the disabled person's point of view, this might seem
rather hardhearted, but the the orders will (rightly, IMO) note that the
religious vocation is predicated on the ability to serve God in whatever way
the order is constituted.
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