Comments on Sister Renée’s Publications
“Sister Mirkes’s article on the abortifacient character of the OC is absolutely the best I’ve read. An excellent piece of research.”
“My hope is that Sister Renée Mirkes’s article on sex education gets to every parent first and then to every person who designs sex ed programs in the U.S. She sure scored a homerun in this article!”
“A masterful presentation of the core arguments on personhood of the embryo! We’re making copies for every member of Congress.”
“You need to write a book, Sister Renée. Your style is clear as a bell; your arguments tight as a drum. Please write more.”
Comments on Sister Renée’s Consultations
“We spoke several years ago about embryo adoption. From our conversation, we decided not to pursue that route. We were finally blessed with pregnancy last year. We welcomed a healthy baby boy on late Oct 2020. I’ve attached a few pictures for you. We named him Augustine after the saint. St. Augustine is my favorite saint. Thank you for helping us during a tough time. Looking back I am very thankful we did not pursue that route. Also just wanted to share that I think stress had a lot to do with us not getting pregnant earlier.”
“Sister Renée, my husband and I want to tell you your wise counsel regarding the difficult obstetric decisions we needed to make with our latest pregnancy has made all the difference to us in the world. To think we were so close to doing something we now realize we would have lived to regret for the rest of our lives. We thank God everyday that you and the Saint Paul VI Institute were there to help us.”
“Sister, your sensitive and enlightening discussion of our desire to reverse our sterilization was just so level-headed yet totally understanding of the reality of sin and the devastating effects it could have (and did have) on us and our marriage. We were really blessed to have been referred to your center.”
“My hubby and I keep saying: “Sister Renée has a real gift. She jump-started our marriage.” And you did—by putting us on the right track with our family planning and sexual practices. You’re an inspiration, Sister. You’ll be hearing from some of our friends…”
“I’ve been in dialogue with the administration of the Catholic health care organization where I have privileges, questioning why a Catholic institution would allow permanent sterilizations to be performed in their hospital. Acting as a medical/ethical consultant, Sr. Renée Mirkes came to my aid in discussing the important ethical, moral and theological aspects of this issue in a very organized and eloquent, rational yet passionate way.”
“You really made me and my husband think more in depth about our tentative decision to adopt abandoned frozen embryos. Your counsel just provided a side of the issue we had not considered. Thanks for being there and God bless you and your work at the Pope Paul VI Institute.”
“I just have to chuckle now that I think of it. You’re the first person (and believe me my wife and I have made the rounds of counselors, priests, etc) that was able to so clearly explain what’s at stake in fertilizing human life in a laboratory that it actually had the power to change my wife’s mind about trying IVF. We’re looking into NaProTechnology instead and however things turn out we’ve come to great peace of mind. We now know we’re on the right road in trying to have our own baby. We just can’t thank you enough!”
Comments on Sister Renée’s Teaching
“Sister Renée, God has truly blessed you with great knowledge of the Truth and given you the gift of the Holy Spirit to boldly proclaim that truth. Thank you.”
“Regarding Humanae Vitae lecture: Boy, is she good!! She’s lively and brings a difficult paper to average folks!”
“Awesome! Great! Speaks about these reproductive issues as a way of life. What dedication!”
“Sister Renée is an excellent faculty member! I’ve learned so much and appreciate her enthusiasm. Can’t wait ’til EP2.”
“Sister Renée’s presentation on Humanae Vitae helped put this whole educational experience together for me. Her talk was a life-changing one for me.”
Comments on Sister Renée’s Speaking Engagements
“In reflecting on Sister Renee’s presentations at our parish on October 28th and 29th, the first thought that came to me was how thoroughly prepared and knowledgeable she is of the subject matter. Sister Renee could present her talk without any supporting material with her understanding of women’s healthcare, the ethical challenges society places, etc.. if she chose to do so. What impressed me the most was to listen to someone with so much education and experience, present on a level so welcoming and understandable for anyone in the audience. This is not always the case for such well-educated presenters.
I was also very pleased with her willingness to talk to anyone who had questions or thoughts without making them feel as if they were imposing. In fact, it was apparent she enjoys the interaction and dialogue with those in attendance.
As one of the organizers of the event, I was also very relieved that Sister Renee was so easy to work with and accommodating in meeting our needs as a parish. She is a joy to know, an incredible source of information, and a welcomed friend for anyone wanting to know more about fertility, women’s health care, or the Catholic teachings behind it all.”
— Deacon Mark Westrick, St. Michael’s Parish, Cary, NC
“For the second time, Sr. Renee spoke at our annual retreat and bioethics & legislative conference. It was great have her back. Sr. Renee’s wit, command of the subject matter, and willingness to take questions were, once again, edifying, entertaining, and memorable!”
— Fr. Scott Francis Binet
“Sister Renee is a very captivating speaker. Her delivery style keeps listeners readily engaged. Her lecture content is detailed and insightful and includes slides with a creative flair! She puts her heart and soul into her lectures for truly noteworthy and professional work!”
— Diane Gowski, MD
“Sister Renee’s lectures actively engage her audience members and provide timely insight into current conscience clashes between our Catholic faith and legal mandates She provided the participants in the CMA Florida Bioethics retreat practical and insightful strategies on how to keep true to our faith in current society.”
— Dr. Angeli Akey
“Sister Renee’s engaging, vibrant style of teaching and her methodical, detailed explanation of conscience protection was extremely inspiring! Her caring heart is readily apparent. She epitomizes professionalism.”
“Hearing Sr Renee’s talk on Healthcare Rights of Conscience on July 17th 2015 at the AAFCP meeting in St. Petersburg, FL changed my life forever. This is no exaggeration. She not only satisfied my intellectual understanding for what the culture clash is in the US by stating “religious liberty is squarely at odds with sexual liberty” but gave important historical context. At the conclusion she played the Bala Brothers rendition of “Something inside so Strong” and invoked the Holy Spirit. By the end of the song, I was in tears and knew that God wanted me personally to take on passing a healthcare rights of conscience law in Florida. I walked up to her afterward and told her that is what I heads thinking if I vocalized it, I was committed. Yet, inside I still wasn’t sure that I had the time or will to do it. However, for the next 48 hours straight, the refrain from that song replayed over and over in my mind until I finally told God, an unequivocal “yes” I will take His task on even though I knew I could lose everything in the process of doing so. So, here I am eight weeks later and my guild voted to take it on too after reviewing Sr Renee’s teaching with them. We have a “Florida Conscience Coalition” and we are about to start the legislative process. So, is Sr Renee a powerful and effective speaker? Most definitely. Is she a instrument of the Holy Spirit? Most definitely. Is she an amazing witness to Life and Liberty and TRUTH? Most Definitely. If you want your crowd to move from lukewarm to conviction, have Sr. Renee speak to them. I know that is what she did for me.”
— Angeli Maun Akey, MD, FACP
President, St, Gianna Guild of the Catholic Medical Association in Gainesville, Florida USA
“We were very blessed to have Sister Renee over in London as a keynote speaker for our conference. Her presentation on Humanae Vitae was delivered with conviction, with great clarity and humor. We are extremely thankful to Sister Renee for her beautiful delivery of the Church’s teachings on love and life. Many of our delegates commented they felt better informed and equipped with knowledge of church teaching on procreation and marriage. There is also great interest from delegates in NaProTechnology. May God bless all the wonderful work that the Center for NaProEthics is doing through Sister Renee!”
— Leonora Butau
“I have been very impressed with the presentation by Sr. Renée Mirkes. She has been to Wichita twice and both times her presentations have been informative and enlightening. Priests and lay people alike have enjoyed her.”
“We recently had the honor of having Sr. Renée Mirkes in the Fargo diocese… All of her presentations were well received. I cannot begin to tell you the good that has come out of her talks. For example, one of the family practice physicians called to tell me that finally the Church’s teaching makes sense to him and he is considering the medical consultant program at the Institute. I have had numerous compliments from the priests and hopefully you will see a few at the Leadership training this fall.”
“On behalf of the Twin Cities NFP Center I wish to thank you for providing us with an excellent presentation on Humanae Vitae at our recent Spring Update. Your message was insightful, challenging and very well received both by members of the NFP Practitioner staff and those couples who attended to learn more about Natural Family Planning. It was exciting to have 12 new couples begin instruction Friday evening, and 3 couples requested an introductory session within the next few weeks.”
“The Catholic Church’s reasoning and position makes sense when listening to your talk. The priests who attended your talk spoke very highly of your presentation.”
“From the first time I met Sr. Mirkes when she gave the keynote address for the AAFCP conference, I knew that she would connect well with our students. It was most refreshing for them to meet and hear a scholarly woman of much faith who is very pastoral, inspiring and thorough in her approach to addressing tough issues. Among the many benefits and graces we received from her visit would be students who are now more informed and appreciative of the richness of our faith tradition and the beauty of its teachings. They really felt ministered to by Sr. Mirkes and we are proud to have brought her to campus.”
“Sister Renée beautifully wove the threads of science, medicine and theology to lead us to a deeper understanding of Church teaching about procreation, marriage and responsible parenthood. Her knowledge is current and impressive. Her teaching style blends humor with liberating truths. She is able to relate to the real issues faced by both priests and laity in dealing with sexually related issues. Sister Renée’s personal charm and charisma make her a credible and loving witness for our faith. Our parish was enriched because of the giving of her knowledge, her time and her very person for the day.”
“The seminar was well received and we are hopeful that it will be a catalyst for renewing NFP in the diocese. The contributions of Sister Renée received particularly high marks and comments… Her presentations cast a great light on the depth, the wisdom and the wonder of human sexuality as it is understood by the Church… Thank you for the work of the Saint Paul VI Institute and the contributions of Sister Renée in promoting a Catholic vision of the human person and an authentic understanding of human sexuality and fertility.”
“Sister Renée brings a clear, uncompromising focus to the area of reproductive technology and the true nature of the human embryo.”
“I am writing to you regarding Sr. Renée Mirkes, OSF. Sister was asked to make a presentation to the archdiocesan priests during our Clergy Conference which was held in Columbus last week. She was well prepared and her presentation was informative. Our priests commented to me about her excellent presentation.”
— Most Reverend Elden Francis Curtiss, Archbishop Emeritus of Omaha.
“Your presentation on treatments for infertility was very thorough, both for the medical aspect of the subject and for its ethical aspect. It was also clear and well organized. Your PowerPoint presentation was professional and impressive. I especially appreciated the clarity and the cheerfulness of your presentation…All of the comments from the physicians, nurses, and health care workers in attendance were enthusiastically positive about your presentation and contributions during the discussion. I am grateful for the strong and clear witness you bear for the reasonableness and beauty of Catholic teaching, as well as for the scientific or medical sanity — that’s the word I would use — of NaProTechnology’s approach to fertility and infertility vs. the technicist approach so prevalent in the medical profession today.”
“After hearing Sister Renee’s presentation about NaProTechnology and the issue of infertility, I was convinced even more of its benefits. Her presentation made the teaching on how important, wholesome, and effective NaProTechnology is very clear. It made sense not to just me but to all the other participants.”
“Sister Renee was such a blessing to our group in Houston. She was organized and not only spoke truth in common terms, but inspired our audience to rethink some choices they had made previously.”
“Thank you Sister Renee for your faithfulness in evangelizing to all the thirsty souls on Humanae Vitae. You have so much patience, passion and understanding in educating those with a vocation of marriage to go deeper into Christ. Your conference left us all inspired and on a mission to educate others about the true meaning of God’s love.”