Some thoughts --
1. What is wrong with Sister Benedict teaching the boy to box? Boxing is a gentlemanly sport, and it is not a sin to defend yourself. Of course, violence should be avoided, but there is nothing wrong in giving the boy the ability to defend himself. The scene was also there for comedy. Are you going to say that you were not at all amused by a nun teaching boxing? Or the fact that the result of her lessons was to be punched in the nose by her pupil?
2. It is because of Father O'Malley's arguments for passing Patsy that it came out that Patsy knew her material, that she failed the final exam on purpose. Patsy wasn't just passed. When Sister Benedict realized that Patsy knew every answer on the exam, she had no problem approving her passing. (I teach in a public school, and I see students passed for far less. I've had students that I failed passed by administration without consulting me.)
3. I should watch the film again, but I never got that they tricked Harry Travers' character by telling him he would get well only by donating the building. I think what changed his mind was the idea that he would be creating something greater than an office building. His visions of children attending the "school" he will donate, and the accolades that will follow, did a lot to change his mind, too.
4. This last point I must agree with. Although I can understand that the doctor thought Sister Benedict might heal quicker if she didn't give in to self-pity over her condition, I thought it was rather cruel to keep the truth hidden from her. She thought she was being transferred because she had somehow failed St. Mary's or had not attained Father O'Malley's approval. It was right that Father O'Malley broke his promise and told her the truth. And her promise to get well and return to St. Mary's showed the her doctor didn't understand the strength and determination in his own patient.
Just my thoughts . . .
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