The first beauty pageant for nuns was cancelled last week after drawing widespread criticism. “Miss Sister Italy” was due to start this month, and was aimed at erasing a stereotype of nuns as being old and sad.
Before making the decision to cancel, event organizer Priest Antonio Rungi of the southern Italian town of Modragone, told reporters, “Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God. This contest will be a way to show there isn’t just the beauty we see on television but also a more discrete charm.”
The idea was for nuns wishing to participate in the contest to send their picture to Rungi, who would publish it on his blog. Internet surfers would then vote for their favorite nun online.
“You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn’t the case any more, thanks to the arrival in our country of young and vital nuns, notably from Africa and Latin America,” Father Rungi added.
The idea of organizing a beauty pageant had been pushed by the nuns themselves, he said, adding he had been expecting roughly 1,000 candidates.
Father Rungi has high hopes for the future. “I hope the next pageant won’t just take place online but that we can organize a real show that can take place during the Miss Italy contest,” Rungi said.
The contest drew criticism from the association of Catholic teachers who made a stand against it.
“It’s an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God,” the group’s president, Alberto Giannino, told Italy’s ANSA news agency. (AFP)
第一屆修女選美大賽在引發各界強烈反彈後，已於上週宣佈取消。原訂本月展開的「義大利修女小姐」選美比賽，旨在打破修女既老又鬱鬱寡歡的刻板印象。
活動發起人是義大利南部莫最崗小鎮的安東尼歐．朗吉神父，他在決定取消活動之前，曾對記者表示：「修女的美凌越世上所有女性，她們的美麗是上帝的恩賜。透過這場比賽，人們會知道美不僅是我們在電視上看到的那套標準，還有另一種更與眾不同的魅力。」
朗吉神父原打算請希望參賽的修女先將照片寄給他，他把照片放上部落格後，再由網友上網票選出最喜歡的修女。
朗吉神父還說：「你們真的以為所有修女都是鬱鬱寡歡的瘦小老太婆嗎？現在情況可大不相同了，因為有一群主要來自非洲和拉丁美洲的姊妹加入我們。」
他說，舉辦這個活動其實是修女們的提議。他估計大約會有一千名修女報名參加。
朗吉神父對未來還抱持著莫大希望，他說：「我希望下一屆選美比賽不僅是在網路上舉行，更可以在『義大利小姐』選美賽舉辦同時，舉行現場選美。」
該選美比賽引來持反對態度的天主教教師協會的抨擊。
協會理事長艾伯托．基亞尼諾對義大利國家通訊社表示：「這場選美活動會讓世人看輕將自己全心奉獻給上帝的修女。」
（法新社�翻譯：袁星塵）
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