As a person who is discerning, and who will have their sister re-enter religious life tomorrow (she left, but still felt called back to the same community and they were happy to take her), I’ve got a little insight into the matter. My sister had to give medical forms and agree to the release of the information necessary for the doctor and dentist to fill out the forms. Other communities tack on a third exam from a mental health professional that the community partners with who understand their way of life and can evaluate the candidate. I’ve talked to other communities and in my particular case since I’ve had arthritis since I was 10 I always disclose that near the beginning of talking to them. I do this because I know the vast majority of communities can’t take people with disabilities, even with how little mine changes my day to day life.
Some of them do it because people who aren’t at least baseline healthy won’t be able to handle their way of life if there’s diet restrictions, clothing restrictions (like no shoes), limitations just due to the convent/monastery they live in being an older building. Others do it because when you enter a community they are responsible for you and agreeing to that responsibility for life and medical bills are expensive if you have a lot of them. Communities don’t make a lot of money, so medical problems from day 1 could just not be doable for them. Not only that, but a lot of communities I’ve talked to that have tried to let people enter who have disabilities (physical and mental) have had to have the person leave because their condition just seems to get worse; especially mental disabilities due to the amount of silence. They said they don’t know why, but it just seems to do something to people and while they thought the person would be fine it doesn’t work.
I don’t want to be discouraging, because I know when I met it along my discernment (from my parents all the way to the vocation’s director for my diocese) I would feel so frustrated but also sad. However, in this process it’s also something that has to be acknowledged. No community I’ve talked to or even just seen on their webpage has said they will take someone with a past of or currently with a mental health problem. I believe there was a community somewhere in Europe that was founded for people with mental health problems, but I think it was for a specific type and I can’t remember their name.
I strongly recommend you not keep secrets from the community that you are looking at. The community needs to know “what they are getting” when they accept an applicant. As one novice mistress told me, they have a duty to consider applicants and pray on the Lord’s will, but they also have a duty to protect the community that is currently there. The Lord would never call you to a life of living in such a way that you have to keep such secrets. If you’re talking to a community, and the Lord desires you to be there, He will be the one that makes it all work. Not lying or with holding information from people who you will be totally obedient to if you join. Just His grace and you following His will to the best of your ability.
