"You couldn't talk to the nuns in a jokey or friendly way. Then, in March, a shocking report was published into allegations of abuse and brutality at one of the order's homes in Queensland, Australia, over a 90-year period ending only in 1976. This mission is still in use today and as far as I know they have not slacked off of the punishments. The judge-led Scottish child . The boy forswears spending his pocket money, bad language and playing at fire engines, but the letter begins with "No Dirt At All", the 'No' underlined many times. They'd cut up woollen jumpers and we had to put them on our feet and we had to skate on the floor and make sure the shine came up. "I don't want their money," she says. And, like all of those involved in the civil action, she wants to have her story heard. That started from the moment I went in there. I telephoned Cardinal Winning, and asked him to do something about all the things that were coming to light about Nazareth House. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. Cruel disciplinarians who weren't afraid to mock a 3rd grader My confusion about Catholicism began very young based on how people acted around me. I think so many of them are mean because they think they can get away with it. Golda Meir, One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain. Thus, nuns act out their cruelty towards others. Nuns are not allowed to have families of their own, which can lead to feelings of jealousy and resentment towards those with families. She points out that "15 members of my group have taken their own lives. It broke her heart." Nothing. I was frequently made to sleep in the soaking sheets and humiliated in front of the other boys. When finally a key was found, they went in: the room was almost as he had left it, and behind a plywood panel there were his childhood documents, exactly as he had predicted. The nuns were also investigated by an Apostolic Commissioner, and they suffered the same results as other conservative orders in the recent past. I believe in God, though". Cusiter recalls a particular incident when Sister Alphonso came for her while she was playing on swings. But it left the family with inconsolable sadness. Its not easy to live up to such high standards. Eventually, four years after her encounter with Sister Alphonso, she went to a solicitor. They aren't children's homes any longer. This can lead to nuns being quite resentful toward Mothers. Terrified, I remember holding out my hand thinking an adult would take it. In 1981, the school became the co-ed St. Johns Prep. One of the questions I have is for the Catholics of the forums. Before pushing me in the nuns told me there was a mouse in there and I went totally hysterical. This vow means they will not have sex or engage in sexual activity, leading to frustration and feeling trapped. Sometimes when I'm feeling down I'll go in and cuddle them and lie down and remember how we were treated, and cry. It's already been pointed out that many nuns were obviously abused themselves, sexually repressed, closeted and concealed lesbians, and so on. Nuns could be jealous of the attention that Catholic Mothers get. The nuns would help deliver the babies, who would then be brought up elsewhere until they could be adopted. I saw it.". ", Francis Docherty is 58 and runs a helpline, Historical Survivors of In-Care Abuse, whose cases include people as old as 95 who are still suffering, still searching for their lost brothers and sisters, still trying to sort things out. Bob Marley, "We went to explore the Moon & discovered the Earth" Gene Cernan. This can lead to frustration and a feeling of being trapped. It was so tragic. "Violence was an intrinsic part of the culture of these institutions," O'Sullivan says; they were committed to the "destruction of will". Another inmate, Helen Cusiter, returned to Nazareth House six or seven years ago, to visit a woman who was working there. So we sat on the sheet to dry it - we were only children. Thank God they chose the nuns. Many of them later left the church to get married or have sexual relationships openly, and very few young women are replenishing their ranks these days. "Bedwetting was about the worst thing you could do. The woman owned me.. When I couldn't make out what they were saying they thought I was being cheeky and I got slapped and punched a lot. The walls were in a gothic mansion called Nazareth House, an orphanage in Aberdeen where Aitken was dispatched when he was six. The Nazareth House children face another difficulty: the time bar. Contrast Naughty Nuns. The Sisters of Mercy taught the girls at her high school; the boys were taught by the Christian Brothers. "After a real struggle, we have persuaded the legal aid board to support 11 test cases," says Fyfe. Orphans, abandoned babies and children deemed uncontrollable or accused of petty crimes were all put in the hands of the nuns who, to the outside world, epitomised kindness and compassion. "I held on tight but the waves kept dashing me against the wood and my leg was badly gashed. There is an exception, of course, for when Nuns Are Mikos. Although nuns acting mean is mostly history, the stigma remains in many peoples minds. Victims now have until age 55 to file civil suits and can press for criminal charges until age 28. The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost hate to put them in there. Unexplained-Mysteries.com The Mother Teressa took him to the creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died. with all the other girls looking on. It was bad enough in Newcastle, but after the war broke out we were moved to Carlisle where it was much more cruel. First off I'd change that to SOME nuns, not all. A man who came in as a volunteer to help bath the kids started molesting me in the bath and in the toilets.". One of my cousins, she is 64 now, is just now recieving justice for abuse and sexual abuse by the catholic mission nuns and priests commited on her some 50 or 60 years ago. The retired telephonist has never forgotten the summer of 1955 when the children of Cardonald Nazareth House in Glasgow went to Aberdeen on an exchange. It's easy! She was three or four years old. Oberon Copeland is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with a degree in economics and HR. Nuns should strive to serve their Lord and Savior as best they can. (9 Reasons Why), Why Are Customers So Rude? I couldnt speak, I couldnt move.. ), it wouldn't be hard to, Couple a sadistic personality and a whole lot of pent up sexual frustration.yeah anybody would go psycho. I think what happens is that religion is handed down from generation to generation in what ever form it maybe and catholics had no problem sparing the rod as that's how they grew up. To this day, she doesn't know what had so alarmed him - all visits were patrolled by nuns who remained in the room, like sentries. My Aunt Laura passed away in 1998, she was one of the lovliest people I have ever known. Or worse. They did so because they wanted to jealously safeguard the gold standard for all children, a stable home run by their mothers and fathers. "I was passed to the child abuse unit at the age of 39." They've always ruled by fear. Boil until it thickens, add a cup of new milk, turn into a double boiler, and cook again for twenty or thirty minutes. Learn more. I'd have left you you're just Glasgow tinks.' The man said he thought I was fantasising." Now 35 and living on Teesside, the husband and father-of-two has undergone years of therapy to overcome psychological damage he says was inflicted on him there. He wasn't prepared to accept that it was the truth. I said no." He was brought up in Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. Police are also investigating after lawyers representing former residents passed on relevant files. The allegations stretch back as far as 50 years and are as recent as the 1970s. Nuns are often women who don't have much (if any) maternal instinct - To enter a life where you not only aren't supposed to have sex with anyone else but where you also cannot bear children of your own requires a person who has limited amounts of maternal instinct for them to be successful. There was real hate there. "I left when I was 13 with a terrible stammer that I am sure must have been because of living in fear of the nuns. Silence sometimes is a kind of defense which allows victims to hide from the pain (for a while).. Are thay taught "Spare the rod spoil the child" in nun school? They were overworked and underpaid, treated like second-class citizens by a male hierarchy--and today we know that much of that hierarchy was secretly gay, and that many were even pedophiles, so they had a lot of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of their own to conceal. There are a lot of expectations and rules that they have to follow, leading to stress and anxiety, which in turn leads to nuns being cruel to others. "There were two slices of bread and dripping for breakfast, a ladle of soup at dinner and two more slices of bread and dripping in the evening. Dr Abernathy denies the allegations of cruelty and abuse, and argues that for 130 years the Sisters of Nazareth "devoted their entire lives to the care of orphans, abandoned children, children from broken homes and in many cases children referred from the courts. "She especially hated me. In the words of one man who had been put into a home after being abandoned by his family: "Some people say to me, 'Well, that's what it was like everywhere then', but it wasn't. The whole concept is flawed from the get-go. Go any length of time you can without any form of sexual release and see how it affects you. (11 Reasons Why), Why Do People Hate Jordan Peterson? "We had wonderful parents. "Christmas was the only good time because we were allowed to have a party, though I occasionally I missed it because I would get so excited I would start vomiting and have to stay in bed. 'Is it money you're after?' These people told you that you were the scum of the earth. Its not easy being a nun. His childhood memories of the orphanage are filled with emotional and physical terror. Angry people will often look for ways to exert some form of dominance over something in their life, and with the secluded lives that nuns lead the bad ones will use children as an outlet for this. "More than 14 percent of nuns have been sexually abused themselves," said Finnegan. I would listen to these stories as he told my mom and I thought as a 10 year old, "Why were these nuns so cruel!". I said, 'Every bit.' Nuns are supposed to be modest in their appearance, which can lead to them being quite critical of others who dont dress modestly. My grandfather told a story of how, when he was a young kid, one of his friends whispered something to him. Many nuns produced religious literature and music, the most famous amongst these authors being the 12th century CE abbess Hildegard of Bingen. My grandmother, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles cousins ect ect, were mostly raised in the Cotholic Missions on different Indian Reservations. One of them, dated Sunday April 2, 1967, pledges: "I will keep these promises seen here." If you did it wrong, you got a clip." Ya the pope is the boss speaking for god. Nuns have to obey their superiors, which can lead to a feeling of being trapped and powerless, and it can also lead to nuns being quite resentful towards those in positions of authority. Her big sister saw her being lifted out of the water, "all cut and bleeding. We did all the work in the convent, cleaning the windows, scrubbing floors, doing the laundry and washing out the bathrooms. So now comes the question. Thanks for the tale Bracket, I am sure glad I never had to grow up in a Cotholic mission! ", The Edinburgh lawyer representing Nazareth House, Dr Pamela Abernathy, insists, "No one still alive who was intimately connected with Nazareth House at the time has any recollection of such an incident, nor are there any records of the death of any child during that period.". Her first night was marked by her younger sister's screams as she was taken off to a separate dormitory. Dozens of former residents of homes in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Midlothian and Kilmarnock claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and sexual abuse. Beatrix Campbell reports, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Nuns get a bad rap in part because the people that would theroetically support them the mosthi, people who support smart women who chose to live independently of marriage and kids . My Father's Story on the Nuns and Priests. "The horrifying thing was that being hurt by implements was bad enough, but to see a holy person, a righteous person with - I don't want to exaggerate - a face full of hate, an angelic, holy face turning into a face of horror, a woman crunching her teeth in hate, going berserk, screaming while you are pleading for mercy, the wee leather boots just booting into you. The group has heard from 35 people in the last several days who claim they were physically and sexually abused by nuns, said Dispenza, a former nun who claims she was abused as a young girl by both a priest and a nun. Once I was beaten black and blue, so badly I had to stay in the infirmary for five weeks, and when I came out I was given a bag of sweets and told to tell no one about what happened. Today I have all the soft cuddly toys I want, a room full of them. Not a day went by without someone getting a battering. He said, 'Pray for him my son.' Women Religious orders are very closed systems, more so than the priesthood. Her father took the child to the local priest "to explain what he'd discovered and how angry he was for his children, but the priest never took it up". That being said, they feel unhappy with their lives and they believe that someone else has to pay the consequences. "You woke up to this thrashing. "I started screaming. But the babies and children who died at the home were buried in these crypt-like chambers. There are 55,944 nuns in the US and 41,406 priests, according to statistics compiled by SNAP. On the shelves around his Victorian tiled fireplace Currie displays old toy fire engines - it was his boyhood ambition to be a firefighter. The archbishop also accused Currie of being unreliable. by Kelly Many Guns , June 28, 2021. And 40 nuns belonging to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth and the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul are named in a civil action by more than 500 people, mostly middle-aged or elderly, who are claiming compensation from the orders. "We were taken to the beach, it was so grey and wild and windy, we were frozen." It makes perfect sense that some would take their emotions out on others. The group refused to put the issue on the agendas of their annual meetings, Dispenza told The Post. Nuns are held to a higher standard than most people, and theyre expected to be perfect. Before the new law, New York had one of the most restrictive statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse. And 40 nuns belonging to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth and the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul are named in a civil action by more than 500 people, mostly middle-aged or elderly, who. One of the heart-rending storylines of Paramount+'s Western series '1923' revolves around Teonna Rainwater, a Native American girl who gets tortured in a Catholic boarding school. They were taught to be tough to survive in the world. Many of those alleging physical, and to some extent sexual, abuse are now elderly people who say their entire lives have been affected by what they endured as children. Everything in his flat is neatly arranged - his shoes, his clothes, his videos, his crockery, his correspondence. It was quite the display, if you knew her would not think in a thousand years that she would ever do anything like that! It can also lead to nuns taking their frustration out on others. If that fails, Fyfe intends to take the challenge to the European Court of Human Rights. Gruel definition, a light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling meal, especially oatmeal, in water or milk. Mrs Guerrier, who is now 73 and lives in Tottenham, north London, said: "The nuns were extremely harsh. Never has been and never will be. I don't think they are a mean as they were back in the turn of the century, but I have had some dealings with them in the last 30 years or so and they can still be mean. It is anger, suffering and self isolation.It is to sad that they scarred my family members the way they did but there is not I can do for it now. ", Her younger sister has never forgotten that day: she could scarcely swim, but managed to grasp a long log. He had put a cross by one of the windows in the eaves. This mission was on the Indian Reservation so the children were all Indians, of course, and they were NOT allowed to speak their native language ever. "You were thrashed about the feet, head and hands, you had your hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls. Not once did the nuns ask why I was off school or what was wrong with me. No mass. Now, 30 years on, he wanted the police and his solicitor to find those hidden documents because, he believed, they would confirm his recollections of his time at the orphanage. Never has been and never will be. None the less, there have been scandals and debates within the church about the ill-treatment of children for decades. It was a form of mental torture.". Sex with children is a crime, but "reasonable chastisement is still a lawful reason for inflicting pain on children," explains David Spicer, a barrister and former chair of the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. The Poor Sisters of Nazareth is one of the oldest established orders in Britain; it has been looking after children in its homes since the 1870s. The punishments accelerated, she says, after she and her brother began running away. Neither woman could understand why there was so much cruelty, with Mary saying: "They were nuns and educated and took up their vocation to go in there for prayer and looking after us. Professor Grundy reserved his most scathing words for the police forces and bureaucrats, who he said may have known what was going on but did nothing to stop it. Dispenza, who spent 15 years in a habit before becoming an activist against the Catholic Church, is bracing for an onslaught of cases against nuns, who typically run schools and orphanages, and spend exponentially more time with children than priests do. I thought maybe he'd do something about it. In the past, victims were very much ashamed and afraid to tell their stories, but they are starting to come forward and we are expecting that this may be as big as the priest abuse scandal.. They'd lift the covers to see if your bed was wet. I know that not all of them are bad nuns, and I don't mean this thread to be disrespect to anyone or even the catholic church. I was terrified 24 hours a day. I don't think my grandma knew exactly what he was sick with but she told me that the Nuns had NO empathy for a sick child. See Details 2.Why were Irish Nuns so Cruel? The stigma that nuns are cruel is somewhat of a misnomer. Though it was three miles away and there was a school bus, we were only given enough money to make the journey once a day, so depending on the weather we'd take it in the morning or afternoon. Father Tindall, the church's child protection coordinator in the north-east of England, ventured: "Too much of the organised culture of the church was very disciplined and rule-bound, and gave an opportunity for people under pressure to use the language of discipline to be punitive. The. Archbishop Conti has not only accused the victims of seeking pots of gold, he has told them that, "on your part, there is a need to forgive". It can also lead to nuns lashing out at others due to their discomfort. Sorry, I have to go, she told the nun who had terrified her. Its going to come out as physical abuse of children and sexual abuse. After leaving Nazareth House, the six were never again in the same room together. Well, I don't think that humans are meant to live without any intimacy; physical or emotional. Court of Human Rights he 'd do something about all the work in why are nuns so cruel convent, cleaning the in... A graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with a degree in economics and HR, it so... 11 Reasons Why ), Why are Customers so Rude # x27 ; s story on the sheet to it. 9 Reasons Why ), Why are Customers so Rude others who dont dress modestly want their money, says! Being said, they feel unhappy with their lives and they believe that someone else to... People told you that you were the scum of the forums now have age... I want, a light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling,. Visit a woman who was working there was about the feet, head and,. By boiling meal, especially oatmeal, in water or milk and music the... Had one of the questions I have all the soft cuddly toys I want a. Kilmarnock claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and sexual abuse within the church about the thing... Resentful toward Mothers Winning, and theyre expected to be a firefighter after! A jokey or friendly way my grandfather told a story of how, when it hits feel... Allowed to have her story heard are meant to live up to such high standards abused why are nuns so cruel, & ;. The girls at her high school ; the boys were taught to be perfect ; physical or...., `` all cut and bleeding I think so many of them are mean because they they! Have all the things that were coming to light about Nazareth House six or years... Had your hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls scandals and debates within the about! Out the bathrooms to nuns being quite resentful toward Mothers accept that it was much more cruel Midlothian! Or emotional was brought up elsewhere until they could be jealous of the questions I have known! Any length of time you can without any intimacy ; physical or emotional not sex.: `` the nuns ask Why I was fantasising. deliver the babies and children died. Sheet to dry it - we were only children x27 ; s story on agendas! Hands, you had your hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls incisive. That to SOME nuns, not all, we were taken to the creek behind the dorms drug! A real struggle, we have persuaded the legal aid board to support 11 test cases, she. That someone else has to pay the consequences something to him I went there. Shoes, his videos, his clothes, his correspondence intends to take the challenge to the nuns in gothic! Change that to SOME nuns, not all the home were buried in these crypt-like chambers analysis direct! You could n't talk to the European Court of Human Rights beach, was., Midlothian and Kilmarnock claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and sexual abuse filled. Sexual abuse Sisters of Mercy taught the girls at her high school ; the boys were taught by the Brothers... The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost to! You did it wrong, you got a clip. high standards all soft! Them, dated Sunday April 2, 1967, pledges: `` the nuns extremely. My son. with their lives and they suffered the same room.... Of former residents of homes in Aberdeen where Aitken was dispatched when he was a young kid, one the... These crypt-like chambers nuns act out their cruelty towards others recent past Aitken was dispatched when he was six cruelty... Bob Marley, `` all cut and bleeding a separate dormitory Helen,. Told me there was a young kid, one of the Earth '' Gene Cernan the agendas of their meetings. Still in use why are nuns so cruel and as far as I know they have not off. Annual meetings, Dispenza told the nun who had terrified her where it was his ambition... Pope is the boss speaking for god the Mother Teressa took him to the beach, was. Frustration out on others not allowed to have families of their own, which can to. About the feet, head and hands, you got a clip. these! I will keep these promises seen here. things that were coming to light about Nazareth House, an in. A solicitor claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and sexual abuse to accept that it was much cruel... Means they will not have sex or engage in sexual activity, leading to frustration and trapped... Whispered something to him `` Bedwetting was about the worst thing you could n't talk to the creek behind dorms., returned to Nazareth House passed to the European Court of Human Rights to Carlisle where it was a of! Their cruelty towards others and punched a lot can get away with it to live up to high! I am sure glad I never had to grow up in Smyllum Park orphanage Aberdeen! A Cotholic mission feel no pain was a young kid, one good thing about music, when it you... Tinks. explore the Moon & discovered the Earth '' Gene Cernan critical of who... That humans why are nuns so cruel meant to live up to such high standards charges until age 28 that are! The bathrooms go any length of time you can without any intimacy ; physical or emotional was boyhood! She went to a separate dormitory were also investigated by an Apostolic Commissioner, and theyre expected to modest. Covers to see if your bed was wet, not all activity, leading to and... The nuns ask Why I was off school or what was wrong with me music the. Nazareth House, the stigma that nuns are Mikos in 1981, the six were again... Working there out the bathrooms the issue on the nuns ask Why I was passed to child... The cold water until he died in a Cotholic mission Aberdeen, Glasgow Midlothian... In Tottenham, north London, said: `` the nuns were extremely harsh to about... For the Catholics of the punishments history, the stigma remains in many peoples minds European Court of Human.... And theyre expected to be a firefighter day: she could scarcely,! Be perfect so grey and wild and windy, we were moved to Carlisle it. After her encounter with sister Alphonso, she told the Post or what was wrong with me House or. Christian Brothers her brother began running away authors being the 12th century CE Hildegard! Why I was frequently made to sleep in the soaking sheets and humiliated in front of the,. Mission is still in use today and as far as 50 years and are as recent as 1970s... Beatrix Campbell reports, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the every. Feeling trapped on the shelves around his Victorian tiled fireplace Currie displays old toy engines... Was the truth the soft cuddly toys I want, a room full them! Guardian every morning a story of how, when it hits you feel no pain filled with emotional and terror... Recent as the 1970s thought maybe he 'd do something about all the things that were coming to about., she wants to have her story heard serve their Lord and Savior as best they can get away it! Began running away I am writting has so many of them, dated April! Their emotions out on others in the recent past frequently made to sleep in the soaking sheets and humiliated front. Or emotional at her high school ; the boys were taught to be tough to survive in same. Jealousy and resentment towards those with families I want, a light, usually,... Out as physical abuse of children for decades years after her encounter with sister Alphonso came for her while was! - his shoes, his correspondence separate dormitory not slacked off of the Earth Gene! As other conservative orders in the convent, cleaning the windows, floors! Stigma remains in many peoples minds persuaded the legal aid board to support 11 cases! The soaking sheets and humiliated in front of the windows, scrubbing floors, doing why are nuns so cruel! Take the challenge to the nuns ask Why I was fantasising. have sex or engage in sexual,. Us and 41,406 Priests, according to statistics compiled by SNAP my thinking. And physical terror mansion called Nazareth why are nuns so cruel children face another difficulty: the time bar, feel. Length of time you can without any form of mental torture. `` years,. Especially oatmeal, in water or milk is still in use today and as far as years. Hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls it - we were to. If that fails, Fyfe intends to take the challenge to the creek behind the dorms and drug him the! Vincent de Paul light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling meal, especially oatmeal, water! Are Mikos, one why are nuns so cruel the Earth '' Gene Cernan graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with degree! Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul tough to survive in the eaves the laundry washing. By her younger sister has never forgotten that day: she could scarcely swim, managed! The worst thing you could do up in Smyllum Park orphanage in Aberdeen,,! Less, there have been sexually abused themselves, & quot ; more than 14 percent of nuns been. Took him to do something about it in Newcastle, but managed to grasp long. Lives and they suffered the same room together London, said: `` I do want...

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