I posted two blog entries (1, 2) in the past couple of days about a convent of Carmlite nuns in Covington, Louisiana, and the difficult situation they are in. The story got around the Net, even appearing on SpiritDaily.com and in Deal Hudson’s e-newsletter. Now people are writing to tell me that it is a hoax, that they have called the police chief in Covington and the story I posted is a fake or a hoax.
Let’s get this straight: It is not a hoax. This convent really does have a blog on which they posted information and pictures about the damage done by the hurricane and the refugees they were taking in. They really did give up their beds and were sleeping on shelves in the pantry. I’m not sure what is supposedly “fake” or a “hoax”.
Keep in mind that it’s been several days since the story was first posted. This is a fluid situation. Conditions are improving day-by-day. Trees are being cleared, electricity is coming back on, stores are re-opening, and perhaps even people who read about their plight have already come to the nuns’ aid. Also keep in mind that all the civil servants in Louisiana are overwhelmed by events and the police chief may be saying whatever is needed to placate people calling him about a group of nuns they read about on the Internet (especially when he’s getting multiple calls about it.)
I received this information originally from my father-in-law, who is a leader in his third order Carmelite community in Austin, TX, who received it himself directly from the Little Rock sisters. This isn’t some urban legend I just threw up on the site. Give me some credit it here.