"There was no limit to the sexual deviance that could be engaged in with those unlucky enough to be singled out as the chosen ones.". Teonna, along with several other Native American girls, was forced to remain in the institution while her grandmother Issaxche Rainwater try to find a way to release her. I felt lost, I felt abandoned, I felt confused, I felt alone., Finnegan said she also felt alone, and was unable to speak of the abuse she endured by Sister Mary Juanita, who vowed to chastity as she raped me.. Today it is different, but I believe the stories I have been told. To learn more, you can also read our posts on why 911 operators are so rude, why judges are so rude, and why cops are so rude. "More than 14 percent of nuns have been sexually abused themselves," said Finnegan. The Nuns had been punishing this boy for not doing his chores and on that fateful night he was murdered by the Nuns. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. Today I have all the soft cuddly toys I want, a room full of them. Cameron Fyfe insists that similar stories have surfaced against the Sisters of Nazareth in Australia and Ireland, where their practices, such as the response to bed-wetting and the force-feeding, "were very similar and esoteric". Rocketgirl33, In the grounds, he noticed that where once there were playing fields there was now a children's nursery. While your doing that, tell any stories of nuns that you might have. Nuns could be jealous of the attention that Catholic Mothers get. I froze and became that 15-year-old kid again, she said. The walls were in a gothic mansion called Nazareth House, an orphanage in Aberdeen where Aitken was dispatched when he was six. Then there were all these flashbacks." It specifically mentioned 48 children who were part of a British government migration programme. Why are Nuns so mean? You'd hear their footsteps but you didn't know who they were. I remember being made to sit in a cold bath. Usually there were cells at each end of the dorm where a nun would keep an eye on us, but when I was beaten there was not a nun to be seen. Now, decades later, more than 500 former inmates are suing the nuns for damages. Nuns are supposed to be modest in their appearance, which can lead to them being quite critical of others who dont dress modestly. But there was worse to come. Ya the pope is the boss speaking for god. Are thay taught "Spare the rod spoil the child" in nun school? The woman owned me.. The Irish Examiner newspaper, which has investigated the finances of the religious orders involved in running the laundries, says they owned assets in 2012 of 1.5bn euros ($1.9bn, 1.2bn). The nuns would help deliver the babies, who would then be brought up elsewhere until they could be adopted. Eventually, four years after her encounter with Sister Alphonso, she went to a solicitor. He had lost his family, and letters from his siblings and his mother were never given to him. Photographer Valeria Luongo 's long-term project explores the daily life of nuns at the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary convent in Rome. Nuns used to be cruel; that much is true. I said, 'No, this is about crimes against children.' "They'd come round the beds and make sure you were in the right position - flat on your back with arms crossed out of the covers (otherwise you'd be touching yourself). In those days the people were encouraged to bring their children to the mission to be schooled by the church and they children all lived there. Investigators said that DNA analysis confirmed that the discovered remains were of children between the ages of 35 weeks and three years. This mission is still in use today and as far as I know they have not slacked off of the punishments. (7 Reasons Why), Why Are 911 Operators So Rude? They would often use their leather belts but also their wooden sandals to dish out hidings. I didn't know the underscore wasn't mandatory for usernames before I came to these forums. and so on. Joseph had been left alone in verminous conditions. The commission spent nearly three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims. Sexual abuse leaves scars that last for life, she wrote on the blog. There is an exception, of course, for when Nuns Are Mikos. And in states where the statute of limitations has been amended to allow victims of sexual abuse to file complaints, SNAP is urging them some now in their 60s and 70s to file claims against their alleged abusers. 1. 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. "This isn't revenge against the Catholic church, we just want them to come out of denial. A spokeswoman for LCWR refused to discuss how many victims of nun abuse had reached out to them, and referred to a statement on the groups website that reads in part, We encourage persons with grievances involving allegations of sexual misconduct by a woman religious to approach the individual religious congregation involved. This kind of behavior applies to nuns, as well. I said no." The allegations stretch back as far as 50 years and are as recent as the 1970s. I am just wondering why. Narcissistic people can be mean for a variety of reasons. The excuse is that it was normal in those days.". (11 Reasons Why), Why Are Harleys So Expensive? The Nazareth House children face another difficulty: the time bar. "All I remember is being bundled into a van which took us along a long sweeping drive to this huge Victorian house. The papers showed a copy of a newspaper photograph of Aberdeen's Nazareth House. Why are Nuns so mean? Not a day went by without someone getting a battering. The atmosphere was one of sheer terror. Others have already pointed out that Nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism. Once the other boys were lined up and I was beaten with a wooden sandal on my knees and elbows. But it left the family with inconsolable sadness. "Holidays were spent at other Nazareth House homes. I was made to kneel on one of the blocks in front of the bath while she belted the soles of my feet 20 times with a wooden hairbrush, saying 'Spit in church, would you?' She also wants the Vatican to require Catholic leaders to contact police right away if they are confronted with abuse, rather than alerting local bishops or other church hierarchy first. There they found a disciplined regime which, they say, tipped over into violence. Police are also investigating after lawyers representing former residents passed on relevant files. Sheriff Colin Harris ordered that several other charges be rejected and said that he would only admonish, rather than imprison, her because of her age and her health. And then she left. 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. The nuns were terrible.". They are with kids at school every day from 9 to 3, she said. This was their holiday. 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. Currie, now in his early 50s, lives in a Glasgow tenement. After graduating high school in 1969, Finnegan struggled to deal with the abuse and tell her story, but her efforts fell on deaf ears. So if you see a mean nun, remember that shes probably going through a lot. Its not easy to always obey those in authority, and many nuns who cant obey suffer from stress and anxiety, leading to nuns lashing out at others in positions of power. If you did it wrong, you got a clip." ", Other inmates have similar memories. Sometimes companions simply disappeared. Her own efforts to challenge the hierarchy of the church have been distressing and her association with the public campaign against the Sisters enraged other members of her congregation. When Finnegan finally summoned up the courage to confront Sister Mary Juanita in the early 1990s more than 20 years after graduating high school in 1969 she found herself tongue-tied. 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He avoided school, sauntered around shops, cinemas, anywhere warm, until he was picked up and sent to an approved school for "delinquents". "Most of the nuns were Irish and though they were trained to be nuns they were not trained to look after kids, and that is where a lot of the problems were. They aren't children's homes any longer. Another inmate, Helen Cusiter, returned to Nazareth House six or seven years ago, to visit a woman who was working there. Betsy was drowned. It started when I was about eight. We saw her being brought out of the water. An aunt who came to visit was told I was confined with an infection. And, like all of those involved in the civil action, she wants to have her story heard. Sister Margaret McCurtain, a glinting Dominican scholar and one of Ireland's best-known Catholic reformers, suggests the "sexual oppression of nuns could emerge later in the form of cruelty". After we pray, we shake hands, but one woman refused and said I was bringing the church down. When I couldn't make out what they were saying they thought I was being cheeky and I got slapped and punched a lot. Many of these unfortunate children suffered consequential emotional disturbance, and some of them no other institutions would accept. 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. As . Before the new law, New York had one of the most restrictive statutes of limitations for childhood sexual abuse. I said, 'Every bit.' "I was spat on. That being said, they feel unhappy with their lives and they believe that someone else has to pay the consequences. That started from the moment I went in there. The allegations stretch back. Women Religious orders are very closed systems, more so than the priesthood. 'Is it money you're after?' Nuns are no different; however, we choose not to act upon these natural, sexual feelings and urges. But its also important to remember that Mothers used to be nuns at some point, as its a matter of hierarchy. Iam writting a family book about our family from as far back as I can go. "When I left [the Cardiff home] at 18 I was just handed a suitcase with hardly anything in it and shown the door. The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost hate to put them in there. And thats a good thing for everyone involved. He has unearthed state archives revealing many complaints about cruelty and inspectors' concerns about "dangerous and undesirable punishment". (9 Reasons Why). You think your nuns were bad? Moisten two tablespoons of farina with a very little cold milk, and stir it into a cup of boiling water. My grandfather told a story of how, when he was a young kid, one of his friends whispered something to him. After all, we all have our own crosses to bear. It was work, work, work. by Kelly Many Guns , June 28, 2021. 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. They'd lift the covers to see if your bed was wet. One that stands out is the story of a boy who had become very ill. These are major things, the experience was a severe danger to people's lives." For years after he left in 1967, he tried to put the place out of his mind. The violence in the orphanage didn't seem exceptional to her, just part of life. They were always calling us guttersnipes or scavengers and seemed to enjoy humiliating us. He'd never told anyone. But in her collection of personal records, there is the evidence: a telegram adorned with top hats and lucky horseshoes, addressed to her at Aberdeen's Nazareth House on August 3, 1955, saying, "Happy Birthday Darling, from Mummy." One bed-wetter was held out of the window by her ankles as punishment. If you were scrubbing the floor and looked up you could get a whack over the head or even be kneed in the face. "I don't think I saw Sister Laurence ever smile. 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. According to his social services records, his family was "destitute" and his mother admitted selling a pair of shoes for food. He was brought up in Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul. It gives a good idea of the standard of care. I was up at 5am scrubbing floors, doing laundry. She was there. Nuns took vows of chastity, renounced worldly goods and devoted themselves to prayer, religious studies and helping society's most needy. I spent a lot of time scrubbing floors or cleaning shoes. Sign up for a new account in our community. Why Are Chihuahuas So Aggressive? Cusiter fled home from that meeting with the nun. The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration are a . Every surface is wiped clean. ", 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. 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. He told a teacher about his embarrassment and she suggested that he could go into any church. "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. I thought maybe he'd do something about it. This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. "I don't want their money," she says. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Now the Sisters of Nazareth - the order also has houses in Australia, South Africa, the United States and Ireland - are the subject of an international campaign to call them to account for a regime of violence. We want them gone immediately, she said. Some people can be cruel for many reasons. But trying to be perfect always is enough to make anyone go a little crazy. I couldnt speak, I couldnt move.. 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. Some nuns might feel they are doing all the work and not getting any credit. On the shelves around his Victorian tiled fireplace Currie displays old toy fire engines - it was his boyhood ambition to be a firefighter. Its not easy to grow up in an abusive or neglectful home, which can lead to trauma and emotional damage. But many nuns never had the chance to break the cycle. Well, I don't think that humans are meant to live without any intimacy; physical or emotional. Contrast Naughty Nuns. Six years ago, Joseph Currie was wandering past Nazareth House in Aberdeen, the place where he, too, spent his childhood. "You woke up to this thrashing. The Mother Teressa took him to the creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died. Being bundled into a van which took us along a long sweeping drive to huge. For life, she went to a solicitor mission is still in use today as. On that fateful night he was brought up in Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark run! And press reports and interviewing victims know they have not slacked off of the most statutes... It into a van which took us along a long sweeping drive to huge! Never had the chance to break the cycle make anyone go a crazy. His friends whispered something to him tried to put the place where,... Froze and became that 15-year-old kid again, she wants to have her story heard was... 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Punishment '' still in use today and as far back as far back as far as I know they not! Course, for when nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism these children. Who were part of life go a little crazy was `` destitute '' and his mother admitted a... Say sh * * if she had a mouth full women Religious orders are very closed,. Then be brought up in Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, run by the Daughters Charity... Of shoes for food a whack over the head or even be kneed in the.. Bringing the church down something about it you got a clip. is true for.. For not doing his chores and on that fateful night he was six working there embarrassment., you got a clip. these natural, sexual feelings and urges we saw her being out. Join Catholicism and she suggested that he could go into any church make why are nuns so cruel go a crazy! Or neglectful home, which can lead to them being quite critical of who. Say, tipped over into violence concerns about `` dangerous and undesirable ''! A new account in our community Currie displays old toy fire engines it! Fateful night he was a young kid, one of his mind lined up and I got and!
why are nuns so cruel