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* A candidate for state Senate has been claiming that she was a Catholic nun for five years. Phil Kadner says she wasn’t…
Republican Barbara Bellar boasts on her website and on the campaign trail for the 18th District state Senate seat that she was once a Catholic nun.
But when asked if she ever took vows of fidelity and obedience she refused to return telephone calls for days and repeatedly walked away from this columnist during a Republican candidate forum at Moraine Valley Community College on Saturday.
“Dr. Bellar served as a Benedictine nun for five years and remains active in her church,” Bellar claims in a biography on her campaign website, which includes a logo that reads: “Barbara Bellar, State Senate, There’s ‘Nun’ Better.”
But Sister Patricia Crowley, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago, said Bellar was only a postulant in the order, meaning she was there for a year and was a candidate to join the order.
Crowley explained that the layman’s definition of a nun really doesn’t mean anything to her order.
Now I’ve seen everything.
Wow.
Just.
Wow.
*** UPDATE *** Check out Bellar’s yard sign…
Oy.
Catholics make up most of that district. What a disaster.
* Nothing could possibly top that story. But there’s an, um, interesting candidate running for Kane County Board…
Kerri Branson didn’t expect that her past as a video-game actress and Playboy model 20 years ago would be in the spotlight when she decided to run for a seat on the Kane County Board.
“It has actually been rather funny how my past is blowing up like this,” said Branson, the Democratic challenger in the race for Kane County Board District 18.
Branson, 42, of North Aurora, has been fielding interviews about the Sonya Blade character she portrayed in the Mortal Kombat video game series and her nude, lingerie and swimsuit poses for a dozen Playboy special newsstand magazines.
“I don’t regret what I did,” said Branson, who is from Minnesota. “I was very successful at it and it brought me to Illinois, where I met my husband and have a beautiful family.”
She and her husband have four children: twin sons, 15, who suffer from severe cerebral palsy, a son, 12, and daughter, 10.
Hey, it takes all kinds to make a world. And at least she didn’t lie about it.
* I’ve told you before about Natalie Manley, the Joliet Democratic House candidate who was arrested for allegedly beating up her daughter. The charges were later dropped. But the House Republicans are running a new ad that, while not directly mentioning the alleged assault, most certainly alludes to it. You gotta watch this one…
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 1:43 pm
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Well, “There’s ‘nun’ more unusual” to claim to be a former Nun.
When you get to the Pearly Gates (if you are a believer in this sort of thing…) and St. Peter asks you, “Did you really fib about being a ‘bride of Christ’ to win a political office?”, how do you hadle THAT question …
“It depends on what the definition of ‘nun’ is, St. Peter …”
As for our Playboy candidate … hey, isn’t that someone who is a ’skirt chaser’ and not an actual Playmate?
“My water runs cold, my property taxes have just been sold …My County Board Member’s a Centerfold… ”
Manley Ad … Yikes … That was as subtle as a punch to the … (pause) … never mind.
Well done “Ad”, HRCC, by the way.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 1:54 pm
Saw one of Bellar’s campaign signs, didn’t get the “There’s nun better” line until now. Geez, she’s built her entire campaign on being a nun and she wasn’t?
Comment by Tony Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 1:55 pm
There is that double standard again. Scott Brown was not diminished by posing in the nude.
Comment by Paul Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:00 pm
Did she play Sr. Mary Stigmata?
“Boys, you got to learn not to talk to nuns that way.”
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:01 pm
I would not vote against Kerri Branson for being a playboy model or any other model. In fact, I might for her, we could use more beautiful people in government.
The main question should be, will she do a better job than her opponent, which should be the standard question.
Comment by Ahoy! Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:07 pm
If you read the rest of Kadner’s article, it seems Bellar fibbed a bit on her where she went to medical school too. This woman is seemingly a doctor, a lawyer, was in the army, and served the church (in some sort of capacity) — all that is impressive on its own merit… there really is no need to stretch the truth.
Comment by Just Observing Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:07 pm
Now … I want an answer, if I could …
Did “Two Putt” Cross … um, recruit … Sister “Seems to be Fibbing”?
My list, and its way too long, of Cross … missteps can’t handle ANOTHER candidate recruitment error.
Can someone answer if she was a HGOP … “selection”?
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:09 pm
So far as use of the term “nun” is concerned, the only thing that anyone should be questioning is how long she actually was one.
Whether a novice, postulant or someone who has taken “final vows” - when someone is living as part of the religious order he/she IS a sister/brother/friar, and are addressed as such within those communities.
It doesn’t help Dr. Bellar’s cause to dodge the subject. But, if Kadner is claiming that she was NEVER a “nun” then he is factually incorrect.
Comment by Brendan Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:09 pm
–Scott Brown was not diminished by posing in the nude.–
Must have been a warm photo studio.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:09 pm
…and for fun, I just made that picture my “Wallpaper” on my laptop … Geez!
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:11 pm
OW, this is a Senate candidate, not a House candidate.
Brendan, read the column. She looks busted to me.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:11 pm
I have two words of advice for Kerri Branson: FINISH HIM!!!
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:12 pm
Well at least you see who you can trust.
Comment by SO IL M Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:13 pm
–But the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation lists Bellar’s medical school as “universitarios de estudios-xochicalo, ensenada, baja california south, Ensenda, Mexico, 1988.”–
Baby Doc Duvalier School of Medicine and Voodoo, Port-Au-Prince, must have been full up.
I never understood the idea of campaigning as a “former nun,” anyway.
What positives are one supposed to infer from someone quitting an order?
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:16 pm
===What positives are one supposed to infer from someone quitting an order? ===
Well, for one, I know a whole bunch of people who dropped out of divinity school because they decided they couldn’t make it as a priest. It’s pretty common. And, unlike, say, washing out of the military, it’s generally not held against them.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:17 pm
The nuns I had in school all were guilty of:
Whapping a kid with a ruler on the top of their hand.
Pulling kids by their ear.
Pulling hair
and they all had that Stance with the Glare!!!
Catholic Education at its finest!
Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:20 pm
Catholic religious orders always require a prospective member to live in the community for a trial period, usually 3-5 years but sometimes longer, before they commit themselves to lifetime membership. A person who joins an order that wears habits or takes a religious name or title usually does this at the novitiate stage. They will be addressed as “Sister,” (or “Brother” in the case of an order of monks), but they are not permanently committed to the community until they take perpetual, or final, vows.
A person is free to leave the community at any time before taking final vows, and doing so is not unusual, so I don’t know why Bellar is so touchy about being asked about it.
Comment by Secret Square Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:20 pm
No, Brendan. You have it wrong. I had a cousin who followed a similar path as this woman. When your a postulate or novice studying in the convent you can be referred to as “sister.” But you are not a “nun” until you take a vow. Bellar referring to herself as a nun would be like a seminary school drop-out calling himself a former priest.
Comment by Roger Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:21 pm
Thanks Rich!
Whew! I have been light-headed with all the Plummer shennangans, and the radio interview quotes … I should have been able to see she was a senate candidate. Apologizes.
So … Does Sen. Radogno and her Crew want to claim her …just aksing.
And, I too have a brother-in-law that went to divinity school and dropped. Very common, not a problem, unless my brother-in-law thought he was a priest, maybe said a Mass or two … even though he dropped out, or claimed to have been ordained when we all met him … then we found out that wasn’t the case …but I digress.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:22 pm
Yeah, this is funny at first glance. But I think people with a variety of experience help to round out the political realm. We need more people who have worked years in retail helping inform elected officials, as peers, what the world is like. Playboy model/video game voice is certainly a nontraditional path, but I’ll take her work experience over Plummer’s any day.
I’m really interested to see how Kerri Branson turns out for two reasons:
1) I’m reminded of Crystal Ball and what cost her her congressional bid last in 2010. The hint of sexuality can doom an attractive female candidate, but not even ding an attractive male one. Regardless of your politics, this is a problem.
2) A situation like this, with embarrassing but completely legal youthful decisions will be coming up more and more in coming elections. Remember the fluff in 2008 about Kucinich’s wife’s tongue ring? (Was that about her choice in jewelry or that she was an attractive younger woman married to…Dennis Kucinich?)
Comment by Colossus Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:24 pm
MrJM gets the quote for the day, and you didn’t even put anything up asking for one. Also, nothing Kerri did would affect my vote.
As for the “nun”…dodging doesn’t make the optics any better, that’s for sure.
Comment by Liandro Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:26 pm
I don’t think there is any big deal about Bellar. Despite how Illinois Review and other right wing publications puff her up, she’s destined to lose. A third of her district is Chicago wards 18,19 and 21. She might get a third of the vote in 19 if she’s lucky, but the other two are predominately African American and she’ll be lucky to crack 2%. This district was stacked to elect a Democrat, and wishful thinking by Bellar and the Illinois Review crew isn’t going to change it.
Move along–nothing to see here but another goofy candidate who can’t win and may join the “Spanky the Clown” club if she runs a couple more times.
train111
Comment by train111 Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:31 pm
=The nuns I had in school all were guilty of:
Whapping a kid with a ruler on the top of their hand.
Pulling kids by their ear.
Pulling hair
and they all had that Stance with the Glare!!!=
We must have gone to school together. I got the tar beat out of me on several occassions. Not that I didn’t have it coming to me but, heck, I was a kid.
Comment by Because I said so... Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:34 pm
“you are not a “nun” until you take a vow”
My understanding (as a lifelong Catholic who worked for Catholic publications at one time) is that “nuns” belong to cloistered, contemplative orders devoted primarily to prayer and work carried out within the convent while “sisters” belong to more active orders engaged in ministries such as teaching and healthcare. So whether or not someone is or was a “nun” is more about the way of life their community led, than it is about their level of commitment. That said, I think it would be more accurate for Bellar to say that she aspired to or contemplated religious life than to say she is a “former nun.”
Comment by Secret Square Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:58 pm
–Well, for one, I know a whole bunch of people who dropped out of divinity school because they decided they couldn’t make it as a priest.–
Sure, but I doubt if they would make dropping out the focus of a political campaign.
That’s what I don’t get about Bellar. Her tagline is “There’s Nun Better.”
I used to be a nun (or not). I quit. So vote for me.
I don’t get it.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 2:58 pm
I was a nun once too. For Halloween.
Comment by Meanderthal Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 3:02 pm
Did she divorce God or just shakin up?
Comment by Because I said so... Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 3:17 pm
Most IL candidates are satisfied with annoying voters. Bellar kicks things up to God.
Let us know how it works out.
Comment by just sayin' Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 3:33 pm
IL Dems running former Playboy model. (cool)
IL GOP running phony nun. (not so cool)
Why am I not surprised.
Comment by too obvious Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 3:57 pm
That Manley ad is just…
Wow….
Best dance around something ever…
Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 4:28 pm
Seriously Rich, you couldn’t post a vintage Kerri Branson photo and run a caption contest?
Comment by du jour Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 5:19 pm
God must have gotten all of the integrity in the divorce. Yeah I went there.
Comment by too obvious Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 5:21 pm
what du jour said.
Comment by too obvious Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 5:22 pm
===OW, this is a Senate candidate, not a House candidate.===
She actually ran for the House two years ago against now Rep Cunningham. She must not have had enough of a beating then and decided to try again against Bill.
Comment by Been There Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 5:47 pm
That doesn’t surprise me about Gellar. People who seem to brag about their accomplishments almost always stretch the truth. though pretending to be a nun is especially contemptuous.
Comment by Jake L Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 6:31 pm
Regarding Manley. As charges were never filed, it’s incorrect, Rich, to say that charges were dropped. No charges were ever filed, and the case was dismissed. A stubborn, but important distinction.
Comment by Apple Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 7:01 pm
=The nuns I had in school all were guilty of:
Whapping a kid with a ruler on the top of their hand.
Pulling kids by their ear.
Pulling hair
and they all had that Stance with the Glare!!!=
It sounds like it would be more believable if Natalie Manley was a former nun
Comment by Just Joking Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 7:21 pm
When I was writing my first job resume back in the ’70’s, the class was told to never embellish the facts. Sooner or later it will be found out.And, that was BC–Before Computers!
Nowadays, with technology it is even easier to find out about people. It is sheer stupidity to think these things can’t be found out and spread through the internets.
Stupid.
Comment by Nearly Normal Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 8:06 pm
Thanks, - Been There -,
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 8:51 pm