Rahab, a great heroine of the Bible was a prostitute...Mary Magdalene was not a virgin when she met Christ but likely led a life of singleness and permanent devotion afterward...And that’s just one example among numerous women throughout the ages who came to Christ after leading lives in darkness...
And what about women of faith who have been raped in the past? Should they be disqualified from consecrated life?
No.
i do not believe (correct me if wrong, thanks) the issue is limited or even primarily about one’s past. at least, I do not argue that point. past is past,
the statement sounds like it would authorize or excuse breaking one’s (voluntarily-undertaken) vows ... in one’s future life (while supposedly upholding those vows)
Jesus reportedly taught the adultress to ‘go and sin no more’... keep her vows for the future....
best,
fhc
There are other forms of consecrated life, e.g. for widows, but they don’t run around calling themselves virgins.
I think Mary Magdalene was given a special title: Penitent.