Not at all. No problem. There is a lot of information in this report.
The report was by CARA (Canter for Research in the Apostolate*) the *major sociology group in the US, which is unbiased and very reliable and professional. It is based at Georgetown Univ. The report is on their website.
www. cara.georgetown.edu
and is at:
usccb.org/cl/profession-class-2010.shtml
Click on “report”.
As I said earlier, I am surprised that* all *the institutes didn’t respond–after all, this is the USCCB calling–and noted that a low % of contemplative institutes responded–meaning answered at all–in the 30+ range. So it’s not surprising that they, especially the DC’s, may not respond to casual requests for info. I imagine that they receive a lot of inquiries. If if were me, I would do as much research on each institute on the web as I can, and carefully draft a snail mail letter, giving my background, including age and education, and my religious history–conversions, awakenings, what Carmelite books I have read, etc. Maybe even a picture. I would approach it sort of like a college application. If after a number of weeks, you don’t hear, I would send a followup letter, referring to your first inquiry, and wait. If you still don’t hear, but are still interested (!), you might consider a “nun run” and see if they are receptive to visitors for retreats. But that sort of thing takes money and time (whence the “nun run” idea–with others, or combining institutes).
I do think that letters can get lost, especially if there is a transition, a death in the community (especially in Carmels). Some religious may wear many hats. Some may feel that you should keep knocking. I don’t know. Some may actually not be able to take more in formation at the current time.
Depending on the status of your discernment with BC, you might persist with Carmels in the US, as the entire process does appear to take so long. There is a huge amount of information about Carmel on phat, also on the
forums.catholic-questions.org. Mainly on phat, tho’.
