She answered to her conscience: Agnes Mary Mansour, who left Mercys at Vatican ultimatum, dies at 73

National Catholic Reporter, Jan 7, 2005 by Arthur Jones

At the height of the headlines and protests, Mansour received offers for movie rights to her life. She was agreeable, she quipped, provided the fee equaled Michigan's then-current budget deficit: $900 million. The movie did not materialize.

In 1988, Mansour founded the Poverty and Social Reform Institute, an advocacy group focused on "creative and collaborative action" to combat the poverty that damaged children and families. The institute also created "Leaps and Bounds," two child-care centers in Detroit, one on the East Side of the city, one on the West.

Mansour survived a battle with breast cancer 11 years ago, but in April this year cancer recurred, metastasized into her bones and lungs. During a conversation with NCR shortly before she died, she said that at 73 she had "lived a long life." Reflecting on the decisions she made in the early 1980s, she said that at the time she was "hurt rather than bitter." She advised that the big decisions in life mean "you have to make sure you're consulting with people you have a lot of confidence in. And that you're praying. That you are willing to stand by whatever decision you make if, indeed, it appears to you to be the right decision, and then move forward.

"The church is bigger than the hierarchy, and I always had that strong support system of the Sisters of Mercy. Today the church is a mixed bag; there is no question about it. I think the hierarchical church has lost its way." The communities of religious women were never given the kind of leadership roles "that are vitally needed," she said, and it was those communities, along with the many "wonderful local priests" who were capable of providing the leadership that would take the church into the everyday world.

The Mercys introduced Mansour to more than religious life. The Baltimore Mercys converted her to playing video poker. "I'm very competitive, I like competitive sports and games, but very practical about what I'm going to spend. I don't overdo the poker--but I'm pretty good at it!"

She played her last game the same week as her final radiation treatment.

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton presided at the Dec. 21 Mass of Resurrection in the Mercy Center Chapel, Farmington Hills, Mich.

[Arthur Jones is NCR editor at large. His e-mail address is arthurjones@comcast.net.]