Rise Up, Sisters, Rise Up

"Love Cannot Be Silenced" is a song by Kathy Sherman who recently composed it to address the Vatican's attack on the nuns.

James Martin S.J., pays homage to the remarkable legacy of women religious since Vatican II.

From California to Canada, Sister Geritola has entertained audiences, large and small for over 20 years. She has a unique form of comedy based loosely on her own experiences as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur and her 30 years of teaching experience.

Kalamazooans Protest Vatican’s Treatment of Nuns

This article appeared in the Huffington Post on Tuesday, June 19

People across the nation have taken to the streets to protest the Vatican’s attack on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and show their support for the sisters, according to Nun Justice.

On Sunday, June 10, forty people from Kalamazoo, Michigan, gathered at St. Augustine Cathedral to join them.  Kim Franke and Marianne Houston organized the demonstration.

The Catholic Church charged the LCWR of “serious doctrinal problems” by being too tolerant with homosexuality, too silent in opposing abortion and contraception and too amenable to “radical feminist themes” regarded as incompatible with Church teaching. 

The LCWR represents 80 percent of the 57,000 nuns in the United States.  The Vatican ordered the group to place itself under the authority of Seattle’s archbishop, J. Peter Sartain.

Video:  Vigil to Support the Nuns -- Part I

Vigil participants asked Mass attendees to sign a "thank you" to support the sisters they have known and loved.  The video includes conversations with some of the parishioners.

 

Video:  Fr. Ted Discusses the Issue -- Part II

Here is a second video includes an exclusive conversation between Kim Franke and Fr. Ted Martin.  He had just finished celebrating Mass when he discovered the demonstration outside the Cathedral. The conversation was joined by MLive reporter, Julie Mack, and various participants at the vigil. 

Video:  Nun Supporters Tell It All -- Part III

This video captures comments by some of the demonstrators.  See a bit of their background below.

Kim Franke is a former Mercy sister (Buffalo, NY) of 11 years with two theology degrees, including a master’s degree from Notre Dame where she studied with noted theologians and then taught theology at the collegiate level.  Although “Catholic to the core” and unwilling to give up on the Church, her love-hate relationship with the institution makes it too difficult for her to attend Mass since women are not fully incorporated into the liturgy or ministry.  Instead, she is part of a “home church” with a dozen friends who meet weekly, share homilies on the readings and support and participate in various local ministries. 

Jim and Marianne Houston, spoke about the sisters' courage to put themselves on line and speak truth to power, as Jim put it.  Marianne said that the LCWR is well aware it is speaking for large numbers of American nuns and that it’s “challenged to carry forth the truth—and may have some things to lose.” 

Marianne was born and raised Catholic, went to Catholic schools and is a practicing member.  As a Loretto sister (St. Louis) for 13 years, she was highly educated and became a teacher, professor, spiritual and educational consultant, wife, mother, grandmother and poet.  She is also a co-member with her former religious community, but doesn’t feel “in communion with Rome.” 

Jim calls himself a “universalist” when it comes to religion, which means that he honors all religions.  He grew up a Southern Baptist and converted to Catholicism when he married Marianne.  The Houstons have spent a lifetime “working toward the betterment of all humankind through the precepts of religion and good works to the community and world.”

Toni Perior Gross, a retired psychologist and former Mercy sister (Detroit) of 12 years, has been a Catholic all her life and continues to be.  She says the Church has been a source of great richness in terms of its spirituality and in helping her gain an understanding of social justice.  She thinks the Vatican’s action against the LCWR is not a matter of faith and morals, but a tool to keep the nuns in line. 

“When I see [the Church] doing bad things like this it makes me very sad—and angry,” she said.

Her spouse, Frank Gross, a former 20-year Jesuit (St. Louis) and retired professor of religious studies, sees the Vatican’s approach with the nuns as an exercise of its power.  Having lived through a liberal era in his younger years, he believes the present conservative era will swing back again—although it won’t be quick or soon.  He considers the Sunday vigil “a sight of the Church I love.” 

Marie Stoline, a wife, mother, nurse and farmer, learned from her teachers, the Sisters of Mercy, to stand up for people "being picked on."  She believes it's her turn now to defend the sisters.  She thinks the Church is deflecting its troubles over the pedophilia priests by attacking the sisters.  Marie is a practicing Catholic, however, the Vatican’s strong-arm tactics against the nuns give her pause in continuing.

Former State Representative Mary Brown (1983-94) lent her support to the sisters after years of working with them on various social justice causes during her tenure in the Michigan legislature.  Although a Protestant, Mary regards the nuns as key contributors to making “the fabric of society stronger, more diverse and seeing the advantages of reaching out beyond the comfort zone.”

There were a handful of sisters present at the vigil, but they refrained from speaking about the situation with the Vatican.

Guest Report: US Nuns vs. the Vatican

LCWR says Vatican report “unsubstantiated…flawed…lacked transparency”

By Deacon Greg Kandra of The Deacon's Bench

June 1, 2012 

The group released a statement this morning, which is reproduced below in its entirety from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious website:

The national board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) held a special meeting in Washington, DC from May 29-31 to review, and plan a response to, the report issued to LCWR by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The board members raised concerns about both the content of the doctrinal assessment and the process by which it was prepared.  Board members concluded that the assessment was based on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency. Moreover, the sanctions imposed were disproportionate to the concerns raised and could compromise their ability to fulfill their mission. The report has furthermore caused scandal and pain throughout the church community, and created greater polarization.

The board determined that the conference will take the following steps:

• On June 12 the LCWR president and executive director will return to Rome to meet with CDF prefect Cardinal William Levada and the apostolic delegate Archbishop Peter Sartain to raise and discuss the board’s concerns.
• Following the discussions in Rome, the conference will gather its members both in regional meetings and in its August assembly to determine its response to the CDF report.

The board recognizes this matter has deeply touched Catholics and non-Catholics throughout the world as evidenced by the thousands of messages of support as well as the dozens of prayer vigils held in numerous parts of the country. It believes that the matters of faith and justice that capture the hearts of Catholic sisters are clearly shared by many people around the world. As the church and society face tumultuous times, the board believes it is imperative that these matters be addressed by the entire church community in an atmosphere of openness, honesty, and integrity.

US Nuns Respond to Vatican Reprimand

Religion & Ethics News Weekly
June 8, 2012

Many lay Catholics around the country have been rallying in support of US nuns. Last week, the umbrella group representing the majority of American Catholic sisters pushed back against a Vatican rebuke of them. In April, the Vatican accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious of having “serious doctrinal problems” and ordered the group to place itself under the authority of Seattle’s archbishop. Conference leaders will go to Rome Tuesday (June 12) for a meeting with church officials to discuss the situation.



Vatican Censures US Nun over Sexuality Book  

Religion & Ethics News Weekly

June 8th, 2012

After a two-year-long investigation, the Vatican strongly condemned a 2006 book on sexuality written by a prominent American nun. The Vatican’s doctrine office said Just Love by Sister Margaret Farley reflects a “defective understanding” of church teaching on issues including masturbation, homosexuality, marriage, and divorce. Sister Farley taught Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School for more than 30 years. She said her book was not intended to be an expression of official Catholic teaching, but rather an “exploration of contemporary interpretations.”

See more about the book on National Catholic Reporter's June 4 story.

Catholic Bishops: What’s at Stake?

 

Religion & Ethics News Weekly

June 8, 2012

 KIM LAWTON, Managing Editor, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly:
 After a two-year-long investigation, the Vatican strongly condemned a 2006 book on sexuality written by a prominent American nun. The Vatican’s doctrine office said Just Love by Sister Margaret Farley reflects a “defective understanding” of church teaching on issues including masturbation, homosexuality, marriage and divorce. Sister Farley taught Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School for more than 30 years. She said her book was not intended to be an expression of official Catholic teaching, but rather an “exploration of contemporary interpretations.” With this week’s news, the book has shot up the bestsellers charts.

Many lay Catholics around the country have been rallying in support of US nuns. Last week, the umbrella group representing the majority of American Catholic sisters pushed back against a Vatican rebuke of them. In April, the Vatican accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) of having “serious doctrinal problems” and ordered the group to place itself under the authority of Seattle’s archbishop. Conference leaders will go to Rome Tuesday (June 12) for a meeting with church officials to discuss the situation.
 
Amid all of this, the US Catholic bishops will be holding their semi-annual meeting this coming week in Atlanta.

Joining me now are Kevin Eckstrom, editor in chief of Religion News Service, and Patricia Zapor, staff writer of Catholic News Service. Welcome to both of you.

On their public agenda, the bishops right now don’t have a discussion scheduled about the situation with the nuns, but a lot of people say they’ve got to be talking about it behind closed doors. How big of an issue is this for them and for the church? Kevin.

KEVIN ECKSTROM, Editor in Chief, Religion News Service:

I think it is a big issue for them, because the bishops and the hierarchy have really had a public relations headache on this. This has not played out the way that they thought. People are rallying around the nuns. They’re coming to their defense. But I think, really, what you are seeing is a bit, not quite a civil war but kind of a civil skirmish within the US church about what it means to be Catholic. The hierarchy says, you know, you can’t stray the line on orthodoxy or theology, and we need you to be talking about homosexuality and abortion and gay marriage. And the nuns say, well, actually we want to talk about social justice, and we want to talk about the poor, and we want to talk about what else it means to be Catholic. And so it’s a fight over when you’re a Catholic in the public sphere what do you talk about, what do you emphasize?

PATRICIA ZAPOR, Staff Writer, Catholic News Service:

And the sisters have long maintained that it’s not that they don’t follow the church teaching on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage and so on, but that they see their charism is to take care of the poor, to take care of the people who are marginalized in society. You know, they don’t see focusing on one as diminishing the other in terms of issues that are important.

ECKSTROM: It’s not a zero sum gain for the nuns.

ZAPOR: Right, right.

LAWTON: What happens if, in this meeting that they’re having this coming week in Rome, they decide that they just can’t go along with what the Vatican is directing? What happens then?

ZAPOR: Well, it’s quite possible, and some have discussed this, that the sisters could form a separate organization that does not come under the canonical auspices that the LCWR does. That’s one of the possibilities on the table.

LAWTON: Another thing that is on the bishops’ schedule is talking about religious freedom. They’re launching a campaign called “The Fortnight of Freedom” in the next couple of weeks. They’ve been talking about this. What are they doing, Kevin?

ECKSTROM: Well, they’re launching this fourteen-day period that ends on Independence Day, very deliberately, to talk about religious freedom. But they’re not just talking about the contraception mandate, which is the big thing that’s gotten all of the attention, but they’re also talking about the ability to hire and fire people who share their faith—that that’s a big deal. Or the ability of Catholic business owners to be able to set their own policies on things like offering birth control to their employees. It’s not just about the public sphere, but it’s about the private sphere, too. So the contraception is the one that’s gotten all of the attention, but they have a—it’s sort of a multifaceted agenda that they’re looking at.

LAWTON: And how has that campaign been received in the pews, or what did the bishops want it to be received–how did they want it to be received?

ZAPOR: Well, they would like enthusiastic response from parishioners to write letters to members of Congress, to do whatever they—is within their power to let Congress and let the administration know how they feel. The response varies around the country. Some parishes are wholeheartedly jumping behind it. Some are doing less, some might in some places be just letting it go and letting people decide to do things on their own. It varies a lot from one place to another.

LAWTON: And, of course, a major thing on the schedule is, it’s hard to believe it’s the tenth anniversary of the bishops’ development of their charter. They call it their guidelines to prevent clergy sex abuse to protect children. What are they discussing now, ten years later?

ECKSTROM: Well, they’re basically looking back to see how effective it’s been. You know, have they been able to clean up the mess that erupted ten years ago. And to a large degree they have. But the continuing issue that they have, and again, it’s sort of a public relations problem, is that they are seen as going after nuns and Girl Scouts and rogue theologians, but there’s still no real mechanism to hold bishops accountable. The men themselves who allow the problem to get out of hand—you can’t sanction a bishop, you can’t fire a bishop. Only the pope can do that, and there’s no mechanism, and so a lot of people say, you’ve done great work over the past ten years, thank you for that, but you still need to hold yourselves accountable.

ZAPOR: And on the scale of the way things work in the church, ten years is actually a pretty short amount of time, and I don’t think there’s much dispute that they’ve made huge progress in putting structures into place in parishes and dioceses to deal with any possible accusation that comes up and to deal with perpetrators as they appear and also to help victims. Ten years is a short amount of time, as difficult as that might be to believe in this world.

LAWTON: And, in fact, I’ve heard some people say, believe it or not, you know, the Catholic church may be one of the safest institutions for children because of all of that—people are looking at overseas it’s being used as a model—but yet not necessarily followed. Are they looking to change or tinker with this policy at this meeting?

ECKSTROM: They have not made any major changes, at least in the last couple years, and there’s been no real push for changes from within the conference, but I think you’re right. We saw in the Penn State scandal that, you know, this is not just a Catholic problem and that Penn State and schools and other industries can learn a lot from what the church has learned over these past ten years, and that’s really what the bishops started with.

LAWTON: Well, alright. Thank you both for joining us.

Bangor Dairy Farmer Ron Klein Survives Bull Attack

Leoben, the bull, stands in the center with part of his harem of 18 cows

It was a warm, sunny Saturday on Memorial Day weekend and Ron and Suzanne Klein had just spent the morning at a community breakfast hosted by the local fire department and the early afternoon with their cheese-maker partners at Evergreen Lane Farm & Creamery. 

Taking time away from Windshadow Farm & Dairy, their newly-established goat and water buffalo dairy, has been difficult over the past couple years, so this day began in an unusually leisurely and special way.  It was not to last.

Upon returning to the farm around 3:30 in the afternoon, Ron let out his twelve heifer calves to their pasture, but they inadvertently took a wrong turn into the 15-acre east pasture where the 18 cows and Leoben, a 1,600 pound, four-year-old bull and herd Sire, were lounging, chewing their cud and enjoying the shade at the far south end.

Over the past year, the Kleins have separated the calves (weighing up to 500 pounds) from the mature water buffalo (1500 to 1,800 pounds) so they could protect the youngsters from being dominated by the cows, work with the calves and prevent premature mating by the herd sire, Leoben.

Ron cautiously headed out into the pasture to fetch the calves and guide them back, as he had done dozens of times before.  Water buffalo have been domesticated for over 5,000 years.  They are intelligent and if handled, quite docile.  All the cows had been handled, milked and groomed on a regular basis.  Leoben, the bull, had been handled and trained, too, but as with all bulls, he was always given due respect even though he had never shown any overly aggressive tendencies.

Water buffalo calves leaving dry lot to go to their pasture

As Ron approached the calves, they bolted away from him, which was strange and unusual behavior.  When he turned, he saw the adult buffalo cresting a small hill. Ron was between the calves and the adults.  Perhaps a few buffs thought it a game to chase the calves, and the others followed. 

Upon seeing Ron, several turned away, but the rest could not and in an instant he was knocked down but able to roll out of the way of some while one stepped on his left arm.

Ron rose to his knees dazed and his left arm throbbing.  He was about 500 feet from the back fence on the east side of the pasture.  There were several felled trees near the fence that would afford protection if he needed it.  Getting run over by the adult water buffalo was an accident, and he knew it would not be repeated. The cows were between him and the nearest fence, so he headed toward the back fence when Leoben suddenly slammed into him from behind with such incredible force, it sent him sprawling on the ground.  Ron rolled, got up and faced the bull, who was just a few feet from him.

Ron and two-year old Leoben at a more playful time in 2010

“He kept coming at me,” said Ron.  “I pushed against his head to try to keep my body away from him, but he just he kept coming.  I shuffled backwards to keep pushing myself away from him, but he kept knocking me down and trying to pin me into the ground.  He was in a frenzy.  When I got up, he lowered his head and came at me.  I arced over his head and he hooked my belt with his horn, lifted me up and whipped me to the ground.  Then, he ran carrying me on his horn and whipping me into his sides like I was a rag doll.  My heavy leather belt broke and I flew over his back and hit the ground hard on my back.  I rolled and managed to get to my feet and head toward the back fence.”

Ron was in incredible pain and the bull’s unrelenting fury was a terror beyond words. Ron had spent a lot of time with his animals.  He had watched them push against each other, even “spar.”  He particularly watched Leoben swing his head and often lower his head into the ground and dig with his horns.  Ron knew to move slowly, deliberately among the buffalo and to face Leoben to keep him in view in order to avoid him.  Ron also knew he had to stay on his feet.

As a result of decades of training in fundamental martial arts and self-defense, Ron instinctively knew he needed to focus on the bull’s sensitive nose and eyes to get him to back off.

“There was never much distance between us, he would back up a step, lower his head and come at me,” Ron said.  “I was able to side step, or push myself off and away.  So when Leoben knocked Ron on his back, Ron kicked the bull’s nose and mouth with the heel of his heavy work boots as hard and as rapidly as he could.  While on his back, the bull tried to crush his head into Ron’s left side and pelvis. Ron kept pushing himself away from the bull’s head.  After each attack, Ron managed to scoot and stumble closer to the fence and felled trees.  

The bull came at him again and Ron pushed him off, but the bull swept his head sideways and hooked Ron in the left side and with incredible force threw him into the air.

“That was the worst,” he said.  “The bull threw me, and I seemed airborne forever.  I hit the ground hard and was on my back with the wind knocked out of me and in horrible pain. I felt my shirt getting wet and sticky.  I was bleeding. I rolled and got up on one knee.” 

The bull swept his head again and hooked the collar of Ron’s shirt and started to run.

"He was dragging me!"

Ron and the water buffalo

“I remember choking and could feel him moving.  Then my shirt ripped,” said Ron. “But I got up again and pulled the remains of my ripped shirt off.  Blood was running down the inside of my left arm and along my chest.  Leoben bounced at me again, got close and lowered his head.  I threw my shirt over his head and horns to cover his eyes.  Then, I grabbed his right horn with my left hand and pounded his left eye as fast and hard as I could with my right fist.  He responded by jamming his snout up between my legs into my groin and lifting me up.  I put my fingers into his eye to rip it out all the while cursing him and calling for help.  He threw me off and backed away.”

Suddenly, the cows started running toward Ron and dominant boss cows pressed into the bull.  The “Bingo Girls” as Ron calls them (B-13 and B-04 together with M-131) were swinging their heads into the bull and squeezing him to shield Ron. 

Ron tried to calm down the agitated cows.

“I got control of myself,” he said.  “I shooshed the cows, talked to them, leaned on them and petted them as they pushed on the bull.  I got between M-131 and the bull and slowly backed toward the fallen tree limbs.”

Nevertheless, the bull broke free and hit Ron in the front at his waist and slammed him backward.

“When I fell back, my right hand touched a branch, and I hit Leoben with it on the nose with everything I had.  He finally stopped and backed off.”

Ron managed to step into the fallen tree limbs with the fence only about 20 feet away.  Then everything stopped and became very quiet, he said.  The whole scene was illuminated by a bright, soft, white light.  Glowing white posts or pillars appeared in symmetrical rows crisscrossing the pasture. 

“Everything was in slow motion except for me,” he said.  “At this point I was hyper-vigilant and wondered if I was going into shock.  It felt like I was in another world.  I seemed to float through the tree limbs.  Then I heard voices.”

“This way.  Right here,” they said. 

“It was my Mom and Dad.  They were waving to me.  They were young, and I could see them as plain as day.  But they had died.  I was stunned and could only stand and stare at them.”

“Come on,” they said, “right here.  Come on, Ronny, right here.”  They directed him to the fence.

Two cows came up to him snorting, Ron flicked them with a branch, and they turned and ran off.

Ron escaped the pasture over the electrified fence

Ron walked slowly to the fence and set a branch on top of the electric offset and into the field fence wire to wedge the hot wire down.  However, he could neither flex his left leg nor grab the top of the fence with his left hand.

“Come on,” his parents repeated.  “You need to go now.”

Ron put his right foot on the branch, pulled himself up with his right arm and made it over the fence.  He said it felt like he was floating.  After his feet touched the ground, he felt the breeze in his face and heard the rustle of leaves and birds singing.  The water buffalo were all grazing peacefully in the pasture. It was a quiet and beautiful day.

the long walk home was a third of a mile

Ron made a quick assessment of his situation.  He was at the furthest point of the farm property from his house—a third of a mile—but he could walk—or rather shuffle.  He could feel his fingers and toes.  There was no blood coming from his mouth, his nose was bleeding, but his breathing was OK.  His left forearm was swollen the size of a grapefruit and possibly broken.  His left shoulder was swollen and possibly broken. He knew he had been gored under his left armpit, but he did not know if an artery had been hit since there was a lot of blood. He balled up part of his tee-shirt and shoved it in the hole under his arm and clamped his arm down on it as hard as he could. His left pelvis was “on fire with pain.” The back of his legs and thighs were burning; his inner groin and waist area were throbbing.  Since he had a long walk ahead of him following the fence line, he kept talking out loud to stay alert and conscious.

“Home.  Breathe slow.  Walk slow,” he told himself.  “Don’t hurry.  Count the steps.  Feel the fence.  Stumble, fall, get up.  Keep going.  Keep going.  Go, go, go.  Slowly.  Never stop.  Never give up.  Keep going.  One step at a time.” 

For some bizarre reason he also remembered humming and singing “Just Walk Away Renée,” a song from a movie he and Suzanne had watched the day before.

As he came up to the hay barn, he saw Suzanne.

“I heard something strange while I was in the house,” said Suzanne.  “I came out with our dog, Max, to see what was going on.  We thought we heard Ron’s voice and Max started barking. I could not tell where Ron was and started toward the front pasture, but caught a glimpse of him along our north fence so I changed directions.”

“I came around the dairy barn and he was walking toward me," she said.  "I was shocked.  His chest and left arm were covered in bright red blood, his tee-shirt was soaked and dripping with blood.  His right hand and arm were covered in blood.”

“I need help,” Ron told her.  “Call Mike.  Call Derek.  Call 911.  911, Mike, Derek.”

Mike Sullins

Mike Sullins is a neighbor and farmer who had befriended the Kleins since they moved to Windshadow Farm, and he has helped them in many ways.  Derek Babcock is the Bangor Fire Chief, a highly trained and competent first responder and good friend

“We walked to my car, I got Ron in and drove across the street to the Sullins’ house,” said Suzanne. “I saw Mike and called to him that Ron had been hurt.” 

Mike immediately called 911.

“Guys, I can feel the blood under my left arm,” Ron told Mike.  “I’m bleeding.  Don’t know if I hit an artery.  Jam something in there.  Stop the bleeding.” 

Mike took off his sweatshirt, folded it and crammed it under Ron’s arm and pressed Ron’s arm down on it.  Ron writhed in agonizing pain and continued to bleed. 

Derek Babcock, arrived immediately, followed by Coloma EMS.  They evaluated Ron, checked him, cut off his clothes and got him on a body board and into a neck brace. 

“These guys know trauma, and they are well trained.” Ron assured himself.  “They are good, quick and competent.”

Suzanne wanted Ron rushed to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.

Derek Babcock with Ron, Suzanne and Mike Sullins' son, Mike

Babcock called AirCare to have Ron air lifted to Bronson some 25 miles away.  He set up a landing pick-up zone at the Bangor High School parking lot two miles from the farm.

In trauma cases time is of the essence.

When the ambulance reached the high school, the Emergency Room doctor 12 miles away in South Haven ordered Ron to be brought there, so EMS took him. 

Although South Haven was only ten minutes away, it was a long and “fricken painful” ride, said Ron.  While in the ambulance, Ron was given oxygen and medication to dull the pain. 

Throughout his rescue, Ron remained calm and awake, but his normally high blood pressure began to drop.

“I kept asking about my vitals, trying to stay alert,” Ron said.  “My blood pressure was dropping, which meant internal bleeding.  I knew time was important.”

The controlled calm of the EMS crew was a sharp contrast to the chaos at South Haven Hospital’s ER, according to Ron.

“When I was rolled into that emergency room, it was the only time I remember being really scared.  I knew South Haven was not equipped to deal with trauma” he said, “and I did not want to be there, I should not have been taken there.  I needed to go to the Trauma Center in Kalamazoo.”

“Then I heard someone say ‘the ‘copter is here,’” said Ron, “and I remember two people, the flight nurses, coming to me.

“My name is Sara.  This is Bob,” they said.  “Your pilot is Krystian.” 

“I do not have enough words to describe how comforting that was,” said Ron.  “They talked to me as they checked me out.  Then they said:  ‘Lets go.’"

“What a relief,” he told himself.  “Let the professional trauma specialists on the scene make the call.  Derek did, and he was right.  Their job is to stabilize me and get me to the Trauma Center pronto. These people are highly trained and skilled.  They know their business.”

some bruises left after Leoben's countless poundings

AirCare picked up Ron in South Haven and he found the crew “wonderful, excellent, competent and in control.”  He was taken to the Bronson Trauma Center where he received similar treatment from the staff as they stabilized and evaluated him. 

Trauma Center staff found that Ron had severe, heavy bruising all over his pelvic sides, legs and back, but not one broken bone!  It was a miracle. The bull’s horn had missed his lungs by a fraction of an inch and the vitals under his arm “by a hare’s breath.” 

“I was in lots of pain and sustained heavy, deep soft tissue and bone bruises,” said Ron.  “I had a huge hematoma on my left hip, and the crest of my pelvis was heavily bruised.  It is amazing that there was no bruising on my chest or torso, except for the fist-sized gore hole under my arm.  I was black and blue from my waist to my ankles.  I never lost consciousness since I fought to stay alert and do everything the EMS, AirCare, and trauma experts needed." 

Meanwhile, Mike and Suzanne went back to the farm to secure it before they left for Kalalmazoo.  Suzanne was at the hospital before the helicopter and Mike arrived a short time later. 

stitched up gore wound under Ron's left armpit

While he was at the Trauma Center, Ron, who is a retired Senior Research Scientist from Pharmacia (now part by Pfizer) questioned the antibiotic prescribed to deal with potential infection from the goring.  Ron talked with the pharmacist who consulted the doctor and both agreed that a broader spectrum antibiotic was called for.

Doctors performed surgery on the wound Saturday night, let it vacuum drain and closed it on Monday, May 28.  Ron spent two nights in critical care and was released Monday night.

“It was a miracle to be coming home!” said Ron. “Any single trample, head butt, toss or goring during the attack could have been fatal, and it seemed to go on forever. There were six horn holes in the shirt I was wearing.  It was a miracle.  I was lucky beyond imagination.”

Ron's shirt with six horn holes.  His right hand is the point of Leoben's goring

On the day after the bull attack, Suzanne went out to the pasture to look for Ron’s things and found his hat, gloves, cell phone, belt knife and pieces of clothing scattered over a three-acre area.  His shredded shirt had six horns holes in it.  The scattered evidence indicated that he did not take a straight route to the trees and over the fence 500 feet from where he was first knocked down.

“If Suzanne had not been home I would have walked as long as it took,” said Ron. 

That would have been at least another 850 feet to the heavily traveled County Road.

A couple weeks before the bull attack, the Kleins’ had sold the water buffalo herd to a new dairy farm near Charleston, South Carolina.  After a series of delays, they were awaiting arrangements for the transport of the buffs there.  On Monday, June 4 the water buffalo made their 17-hour journey to their new home.

 Ron is now recovering.  Suzanne, an attorney, was able to bring work home, and take over chores, including milking their 53 dairy goats twice daily and caring for Ron.  Neighbors have dropped by with food and to help with chores.

All we want to do is live happily,” said Ron.  “We just formed a new company, Meadowland Divas, LLC, a partnership between Evergreen Lane Farm and Creamery and Windshadow Farm & Dairy.  We want to get our grazing systems on line, milk our goats and make fine cheese.  I have always told people that the transition of sun, to grass, to milk, to cheese is a wondrous miracle.  But, I’m adding surviving the bull attack to the miracle list.” 

“I cannot convey how thankful I am to be with Suzanne, and how thankful I am for our friends, especially Mike Sullins and Derek Babcock, and all of the EMS people. And I am thankful to be here talking to you.  Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

Click here to see videos on Ron's harrowing experience

VIDEOS -- How Bangor Dairy Farmer Ron Klein Survived Bull Attack

Video:  Water Buffalo Bull Attack -- Part 1

One of the most horrifying farm accidents is a bull attack. Hardly anyone gets out alive. Ron Klein of Windshadow Farm & Dairy (Bangor, Michigan) tells how he survived an attack by his water buffalo bull, Leoben.


Video:  Water Buffalo Bull Attack -- Part 2

Ron describes his injuries and how friends/neighbors helped him.  He gives special credit to the Coloma EMS and the AirCare crew who airlifted him to the Bronson Trauma Center in Kalamazoo where he received the best of care.


Video:  Water Buffalo Bull Attack -- Part 3

Ron talks about the meaning of the attack for him, the reason why he added water buffalo to his commercial dairy and why he decided to sell them to another dairy farmer.



Video:  Water Buffalo Bull Attack -- Part 4

As a result of decades of training in fundamental martial arts and self-defense, Ron instinctively knew he needed to focus on the bull’s sensitive nose and eyes to get him to back off.  Here is how the martial arts probably saved him from the bull attack