what did vatican 2 mean to the marinal sisters? >> it was fantastic. we gradually got out of the more traditional works that we were in. such as schools and hospitals. and went to other places. went more on the margins of society, where people hadn't been before. i don't mean to be grandiose about it, but it gave us a sense, you know, that our founders wanted us to go out and be a reflection of god's love, and to go where the poor are, in order to show that love. >> whatever else it was, the era of vatican 2 was a turning point. the number of nuns in america hit its peak in 1965. and it's been falling ever since. there were 180,000 nuns in the u.s. 50 years ago. and only 48,000 today. some claim this was the inevitable outcome of demographic and cultural changes. but others claim it was changes within the church that helped