Margaret Traxler
Encyclopedia
Margaret Ellen Traxler was a prominent women’s rights activist and nun with the School Sisters of Notre Dame
.
, Traxler joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame
in 1941. She completed a bachelor's degree in English from St. Catherine's College
and later received a master's degree from Notre Dame University. For 17 years Sr. Traxler taught in high schools and colleges, before devoting herself to advocacy on behalf of interracial justice and the rights of women in society and the Catholic Church. In 1965 she joined the staff of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice, based in Chicago, serving successively as assistant director and director of its Department of Educational Services (1965-1971) and as executive director (1971-1973). During this period she marched in the front row in Selma, Alabama
with 12 other sisters and with Martin Luther King Jr, organized "traveling workshops" of sister-scholars to assist schools preparing for integration, and established a program to place religious women in black colleges to allow the regular faculty to pursue advanced degrees. Other notable activities included attending the Paris
peace talks on Vietnam
, organizing the NCCIJ’s Citizen's Task Force of Inquiry Regarding Civil Liberties in Belfast Northern Ireland
, and cofounding the National Coalition of American Nuns and the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry, for which she received an award from Golda Meir
.
entitled "A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion
". The ad stated that there was more than one Catholic position on abortion
, and called for religious pluralism
and discussion within the Church. The ad showed the results of a poll of American Catholics: 11% were against abortion in any form. The ad said that this demonstrated a great majority of Catholics were sympathetic to at least some instances of abortion. Traxler upheld the church's teaching opposing abortion, but believed each woman had a right to make the choice for herself. Although 96 other theologians, nuns, priests and laymen also signed the ad, it was the sisters who drew the Vatican
's wrath and who had to retract their statement or risk expulsion from their orders. The four-year ordeal that ensued saw two nuns leave religious life, and heralded the start of Traxler's heart troubles. Traxler defended the poll findings by appearing on television with a tube of toothpaste, saying that the toothpaste cannot be put back in the tube; an analogy to the Church's inability to hide the fact that the majority of American Catholics disagreed with its doctrinal position. "The tension that comes with Rome on your back is enormous," said Sr. Betty Barrett, who added that Traxler suffered greatly when Rome forbade her friend of 30 years, Sr. Jeannine Gramick, to continue her pastoral ministry with gays and lesbians. Gramick called Traxler "a giant of a woman, a prophetess to us all, unafraid to speak truth to power."
Traxler was also the founder of the Institute for Women Today, a Christian- Jewish-Protestant coalition to reach out to troubled women. Under the aegis of the IWT,she organized skilled workers and lawyers to travel to women’s prisons in Illinois
to provide training and advice. And she visited these prisons regularly, bringing the women sewing machines to make clothes for their children. She opened Sister House on Chicago’s west side to aid women coming out of prison. She established Maria Shelter for abused women and children and Casa Notre Dame for older homeless women. And she funded these projects by speaking regularly, and without embarrassment, at churches and synagogues.
Sr. Traxler died in 2002, two years after suffering a debilitating stroke
that ended her public work. She was buried in Mankato, Minnesota
, in the cemetery at the motherhouse of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
.
http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/Mss/MET/mss-MET.htm
The collection includes her Private Correspondence (1953-1995), Private Correspondence by Correspondent (1958-1994), Writings by Sr. Margaret Ellen Traxler (1950-1996), Honors (1970-1995), Speaking Engagements, 1963-1996), Subject Files (1965-1994), Family Papers (1916-1918, 1924, 1941-1994), and Writings about Sr. Margaret Ellen Traxler (1941-2002).
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
.
Biography
Margaret Ellen Traxler was born in 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Raised in nearby Henderson, MinnesotaHenderson, Minnesota
Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 886 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, Traxler joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
in 1941. She completed a bachelor's degree in English from St. Catherine's College
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
and later received a master's degree from Notre Dame University. For 17 years Sr. Traxler taught in high schools and colleges, before devoting herself to advocacy on behalf of interracial justice and the rights of women in society and the Catholic Church. In 1965 she joined the staff of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice, based in Chicago, serving successively as assistant director and director of its Department of Educational Services (1965-1971) and as executive director (1971-1973). During this period she marched in the front row in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
with 12 other sisters and with Martin Luther King Jr, organized "traveling workshops" of sister-scholars to assist schools preparing for integration, and established a program to place religious women in black colleges to allow the regular faculty to pursue advanced degrees. Other notable activities included attending the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
peace talks on Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, organizing the NCCIJ’s Citizen's Task Force of Inquiry Regarding Civil Liberties in Belfast Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and cofounding the National Coalition of American Nuns and the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry, for which she received an award from Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
.
Women’s Rights
In 1984 Traxler was one of 26 nuns who signed their names to an advertisement in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
entitled "A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion
A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion
A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion, alternatively referred to by its pull quote "A Diversity of Opinions Regarding Abortion Exists Among Committed Catholics" or simply "The New York Times ad", was a full-page advertisement placed on October 7, 1984 in The New York Times by Catholics for...
". The ad stated that there was more than one Catholic position on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, and called for religious pluralism
Religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
and discussion within the Church. The ad showed the results of a poll of American Catholics: 11% were against abortion in any form. The ad said that this demonstrated a great majority of Catholics were sympathetic to at least some instances of abortion. Traxler upheld the church's teaching opposing abortion, but believed each woman had a right to make the choice for herself. Although 96 other theologians, nuns, priests and laymen also signed the ad, it was the sisters who drew the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
's wrath and who had to retract their statement or risk expulsion from their orders. The four-year ordeal that ensued saw two nuns leave religious life, and heralded the start of Traxler's heart troubles. Traxler defended the poll findings by appearing on television with a tube of toothpaste, saying that the toothpaste cannot be put back in the tube; an analogy to the Church's inability to hide the fact that the majority of American Catholics disagreed with its doctrinal position. "The tension that comes with Rome on your back is enormous," said Sr. Betty Barrett, who added that Traxler suffered greatly when Rome forbade her friend of 30 years, Sr. Jeannine Gramick, to continue her pastoral ministry with gays and lesbians. Gramick called Traxler "a giant of a woman, a prophetess to us all, unafraid to speak truth to power."
Traxler was also the founder of the Institute for Women Today, a Christian- Jewish-Protestant coalition to reach out to troubled women. Under the aegis of the IWT,she organized skilled workers and lawyers to travel to women’s prisons in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to provide training and advice. And she visited these prisons regularly, bringing the women sewing machines to make clothes for their children. She opened Sister House on Chicago’s west side to aid women coming out of prison. She established Maria Shelter for abused women and children and Casa Notre Dame for older homeless women. And she funded these projects by speaking regularly, and without embarrassment, at churches and synagogues.
Sr. Traxler died in 2002, two years after suffering a debilitating stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
that ended her public work. She was buried in Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, in the cemetery at the motherhouse of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
.
Archival Collections
Sister Margaret Traxler Papershttp://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/Mss/MET/mss-MET.htm
The collection includes her Private Correspondence (1953-1995), Private Correspondence by Correspondent (1958-1994), Writings by Sr. Margaret Ellen Traxler (1950-1996), Honors (1970-1995), Speaking Engagements, 1963-1996), Subject Files (1965-1994), Family Papers (1916-1918, 1924, 1941-1994), and Writings about Sr. Margaret Ellen Traxler (1941-2002).
See also
- Marquette UniversityMarquette UniversityMarquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
- Marquette University Special Collections and University ArchivesMarquette University Special Collections and University ArchivesThe mission of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives of Marquette University is to collect, arrange, describe, preserve, and service records of enduring historical value for research, instructional, and administrative use...
- School Sisters of Notre DameSchool Sisters of Notre DameSchool Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...