God forbid

Much is said and even more speculated about the Catholic Church, as we rarely get a glimpse behind the walls of the Vatican or the monasteries. Now, Majella Lenzen provides firsthand information; she breaks the silence and shares her experiences as Sister Maria Lauda. She served the Church in Africa for 33 years. In Tanzania, the trained nurse is building a hospital. Cholera, malaria, and cesarean sections are part of her daily routine. As a provincial superior in Zimbabwe, she attempts to renew the order's rules and finds herself in conflict with the Church. She is transferred to a crisis region heavily affected by HIV, where she coordinates the Church's AIDS work. When she transports condoms to the red-light district of Morogoro, she provokes a final scandal. She is dismissed by her bishop into a socially precarious life and is released from her vows.