28 July 99

This incident just occurred in Bogota Columbia:

“Two cloistered Roman Catholic nuns killed a thief with a gun they bought from the army after their convent was burglarized nine times, Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro reported Saturday.

The burglar was shot in the face and hand shortly after he broke into the convent late Tuesday night, and died several hours later at a nearby hospital.

‘What happened was . . . a deplorable accident,’ Castro told the press, explaining that the nuns felt helpless and had asked the army brigade stationed in the region for a weapon.

At the time of the break-in, the nuns were on guard duty as part of a system the convent had instituted the day before to protect against intruders.

The convent houses twenty-eight cloistered nuns of the Conceptionist order. ‘The nuns had a valid weapons permit and will not face charges,’ said their lawyer.”

Lesson: It was not an “accident,” and it was not “deplorable.” It was a purposeful and courageous act by a determined and gallant person, who was tired of being victimized by criminals. Even nuns can defend themselves successfully when they get out of “sheep” mode.

/John