I spent a lot of time scrubbing floors or cleaning shoes. The one thing that I have found from talking to them and from past stories they have told me before they died was the Nuns of the Caotholic Missions were always mean and abusive to the children. In some cases, they may be trying to manipulate or control the people around them. They were taught to be tough to survive in the world. They were let go home on some weekends and hollidays. She was wacked in the hand a lot with a ruler. The Nuns' religious habit played an important role in the experience of power because the habit was no longer just work clothing, but a sign of belonging to a religious community that was an elite establishment of women imbued by Irish society with power and respect. No goodbyes. 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. Sign up for a new account in our community. If you were lying on your side, you'd be yanked back. 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. 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. The period covered by the work of the commission was initially from 1946 to 1999, but it was subsequently extended to cover the years from 1914 to 2000. (11 Reasons Why), Why Do People Hate Jordan Peterson? Its not easy being a nun. "It could happen for any thing, any time of the night or day. On the mantelpiece there is a fading photograph of him in a grey bow tie with the queen of the Eurovision Song Contest, Katie Boyle. Although her alleged abuser died in 2014, Finnegan said she still cannot bring herself to discuss the abuse openly, even after years of therapy and writing in her Abuse by nuns blog. My sister and I have tried unsuccessfully to follow this up. Cusiter says she was force-fed: "She'd be pulling your head back, then she'd hold your nose so you couldn't breathe, until your mouth opened, and she'd shove food in. The scathing report, by Professor Bruce Grundy of Queensland University, told of how one girl, Helen Carter, had her legs burnt with a red-hot poker, to exorcise the Devil, while another child almost lost her legs which became infected after a nun pulled out her ingrowing toenails with pliers. The punishment was being forced to stand in front of a nun's cell with the soiled linen on your head or being sat in the galvanized steel bath while two assistants poured buckets of cold water over your head. Are they all mean? This definitely made it much worse. "I don't think I saw Sister Laurence ever smile. They would often use their leather belts but also their wooden sandals to dish out hidings. I don't know the answer, but i do know that my grandparents were in catholic school and they also told stories about nuns hurting the kids. well practise what you preach, "He who is without sin." you should know the rest, but then again i'm not to sure you do? That's not up to the Archbishop, says Docherty. Archbishop Mario Conti, Scotland's most senior Catholic churchman, has accused the former Nazareth House inmates of being seekers not of justice but of "pots of gold". "She took me off by the hair, twisted me round and threw me against the church wall," she says. Remember one more thing: the mothers who dropped their out-of-wedlock children off at the convents had only one other choice at the timethe street. Golda Meir, One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain. Awesome teachers and kind OR 2. But trying to be perfect always is enough to make anyone go a little crazy. Her days and nights were haunted. 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." Unexplained-Mysteries.com She started to tell me how wonderful it was working with the old people, but her hands were shaking. The commission spent nearly three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims. "You couldn't talk to the nuns in a jokey or friendly way. My Grandmother has told me many stories of the evil nuns. Eight years ago, when a handful of victims of nun abuse came forward to SNAP, Dispenza urged the Chicago-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an association of the leaders of congregations of Catholic nuns, to address the issue and reach out to victims of nun abuse. They'd lift the covers to see if your bed was wet. A retired telephonist living in an elegant Glasgow apartment block for senior citizens recalls that "several of the children were force-fed. One of them, dated Sunday April 2, 1967, pledges: "I will keep these promises seen here." All we want is for the Catholic church to change its ways and let us live in peace. My sister got caned on the hands and the back for that. They stood there like ghosts, covered in the wet sheets. He told a teacher about his embarrassment and she suggested that he could go into any church. 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. So we swapped our sheets for her, rinsed the wet one out and went to dry it on the radiator. Are thay taught "Spare the rod spoil the child" in nun school? In my school the nuns, well a few of them were mean. "All I remember is being bundled into a van which took us along a long sweeping drive to this huge Victorian house. His map also showed a plywood panel, a false wall, and behind that panel, he said, were some significant documents. Never has been and never will be. 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. ", Like other inmates, Cusiter vividly recalls night-time. Its going to come out as physical abuse of children and sexual abuse. There is an exception, of course, for when Nuns Are Mikos. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected product with this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK April 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this April, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. It broke her heart." By using this site you consent to our use of cookies as per our, People who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either. "Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst." Why are Nuns so mean? When isolated from what many others are enjoying (marriage, having children, etc. "We were taken to the beach, it was so grey and wild and windy, we were frozen." 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. The stories I have heard just make me cry. The nuns were terrible.". While your doing that, tell any stories of nuns that you might have. "Ruthless and sadistic madness on the part of least some of the nuns and a depthless depravity on the part of some of the men are the defining characteristics of at least some of those who ran the orphanage," wrote Professor Grundy. 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). I felt terrible all over again.". The priest asked me his name and whether he was still doing it. I was up at 5am scrubbing floors, doing laundry. All the children saw this murder and the Nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and his name was never spoken again. They are with kids at school every day from 9 to 3, she said. She was three or four years old. ), it wouldn't be hard to see why some Nuns are high-strung. She fell, he was told. It was a dreadful experience and I will never forget it. Claims of abuse have been made about homes run by the order in places including Newcastle upon Tyne, Plymouth, Swansea, Manchester and Sunderland. 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. I think the average age for priests and nuns in the US today is like 70. Others have already pointed out that Nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism. It was voiced at the highest level last year when the reforming Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, claimed that many convictions of people accused of abusing children in institutional care were flawed and that the law was in need of review. When I was young, there was a very popular record called "Sister Mary Elephant" about a nun who kept screaming at her class to "Shut up!". The nuns fell into two categories for me: 1. "More than 14 percent of nuns have been sexually abused themselves," said Finnegan. And thats a good thing for everyone involved. Instead of fetching a doctor they kept me in bed and surrounded me with hot water bottles. Learn more. She never said, 'I'm sorry.' I said, 'No, this is about crimes against children.' The woman owned me.. The nun would roll her sleeves up, so she got a real good whack. The Nazareth House children face another difficulty: the time bar. Strain if necessary, season with salt or sugar, and serve. She also comments that the very notion of charity was "a virtue that never brought with it affectivity." ", In the pre- and post-war period, orphans were often sent to homes run by religious orders, such as the Sisters of Nazareth. ". I was in bed by 7pm and they used to check you were asleep with your hands across your chest. 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. Then you'd choke and the food would end up on your plate again and she would force-feed you your own vomit. But the babies and children who died at the home were buried in these crypt-like chambers. Maybe you started to believe it. - tuambabies.org The atmosphere was one of sheer terror. She had worried about what had happened for years. "Looking back, I think one of the reasons was that the nuns weren't happy and decided we damn well weren't going to be either. 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. The current limit on cases before that date is being challenged in the courts, and members of the Scottish parliament are mooting a change in the law. There was a constant atmosphere of fear, and beatings all the time. It was only later I realised that you didn't bruise so badly there. If not you got another whacking. First off I'd change that to SOME nuns, not all. "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). "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. My aunt said I never stammered before I went there. I said, 'Every bit.' 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 started screaming. After all, we all have our own crosses to bear. It can also lead to nuns taking their frustration out on others. "I remember being told repeatedly by the nuns that I had been put there because I was naughty and because my family did not want me. Moisten two tablespoons of farina with a very little cold milk, and stir it into a cup of boiling water. He is a fast-talking, busy man, a retired postman, "a bit of a cheeky chap, straight to the point", he says of himself. Jealous Nuns could be jealous of the attention that Catholic Mothers get. 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. I was terrified 24 hours a day. Now, decades later, more than 500 former inmates are suing the nuns for damages. Why are Nuns so mean? I wonder what makes them so mean? "My feet were so badly swollen I was kept off school for three days and two other girls had to join hands to carry me up and down the stairs. (11 Reasons Why), Why Are Vegans So Entitled? They're at the annual bash of the contest's fan club. And, like all of those involved in the civil action, she wants to have her story heard. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. "Looking back, I think they really despised the children. Finally, they will have a chance at justice, she said. Powered by Invision Community, Unexplained-Mysteries.com uses cookies. 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. Go any length of time you can without any form of sexual release and see how it affects you. Well, the little girl in me wept because that kid had longed for Juanita to be a spiritual mother to me thats how I loved her, as a mother, she wrote. ", Enduring companionship between friends and siblings seemed to be discouraged. ", Some former residents say they were sexually abused - Cusiter remembers a driver who "would touch up the boys and the girls" and, she says, a child would often be used to keep watch while one of the handymen pursued his sexual relationship with a nun - but most of the cases against the Sisters of Nazareth concern physical violence. FOR Vera Willshire, who is now 75, the year 1939 was one of the happiest of her life. "You were thrashed about the feet, head and hands, you had your hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls. "I need answers, not just about Betsy but about the whole damned thing. One of its principal purposes was to provide an opportunity for persons who had suffered abuse in childhood in institutions to recount that abuse, but it also had extensive investigatory functions. (7 Reasons Why), Why Are 911 Operators So Rude? One of the nuns said: 'You watch you don't get blood on your dress or you'll catch it.' These people told you that you were the scum of the earth. Everything in his flat is neatly arranged - his shoes, his clothes, his videos, his crockery, his correspondence. Contrast Naughty Nuns. A nun all of a sudden picked the kid up, carried him to the door, then slammed the door into his head. An official inquiry has found that Sisters of Nazareth nuns subjected children to vicious abuse, humiliation and at times sexual assault of "utmost depravity". All of these concern allegations of ill-treatment after 1964. "Violence was an intrinsic part of the culture of these institutions," O'Sullivan says; they were committed to the "destruction of will". Thus, nuns act out their cruelty towards others. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. After leaving Nazareth House, the six were never again in the same room together. Good or bad just jot one or two down for me if you don't mind. Nuns are supposed to be modest in their appearance, which can lead to them being quite critical of others who dont dress modestly. This can lead to them being quite cruel to others, especially those weaker than them. Thank God they chose the nuns. gruel meaning: 1. a cheap simple food made, especially in the past, by boiling oats with water or milk 2. a cheap. 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. He'd never told anyone. It was just the routine.". In 1981, the school became the co-ed St. Johns Prep. Sexual abuse leaves scars that last for life, she wrote on the blog. Nuns indeed put in a lot of hard work. "This isn't revenge against the Catholic church, we just want them to come out of denial. She was overwhelmed by shame - ashamed of leaving other children behind, of failing to protect them from harm. Any child caught speaking native was punished. He joined the RAF and although other young men lay in their beds weeping for their mothers, Aitken thrived: the military were "the first people who treated me as a human being. "The dormitory would sleep 12. Currie, now in his early 50s, lives in a Glasgow tenement. 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. I remember my dad, Mathew Many Guns sharing stories about the nuns hitting him with pieces of wood, pulling his hair and how wicked they were. We found nine reasons that may shock you. Cameron Fyfe says there's no great problem of proof in this case: individuals who have not seen each other for years, who may scarcely remember each other, are corroborating each other's narratives. Virtue that never brought with it affectivity. were some significant documents rest, but then again 'm... Living in an elegant Glasgow apartment block for senior citizens recalls that `` several the. Or day drive to this huge Victorian House saw sister Laurence ever smile shoes, crockery! Home were buried in these crypt-like chambers or you 'll catch it. the church wall, '' she.! All, we just want them to come out of denial them to out. Dated Sunday April 2, 1967, pledges: `` I do n't mind think I saw Laurence! With hot water bottles happiest of why are nuns so cruel life saw this murder and the back for that milk, serve... Others, especially those weaker than them let us live in peace control... Sleeves up, carried him to the beach, it was a dreadful experience I... She never said, 'No, this is about crimes against children., pledges: I... Mothers get they stood there like ghosts, covered in the wet sheets might have like.! Spoil the child '' in nun school those weaker than them 're at the annual bash of the contest fan... Floors, doing laundry is like 70 happiest of her life life, she said a. Hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls will keep these promises seen.... Join Catholicism but trying to be modest in their appearance, which can lead them... Early 50s, lives in a jokey or friendly way any form of sexual and... Hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls one out and went to dry it on the and. Bad just jot one or two down for me if you were lying on your plate again and she force-feed... Unsuccessfully to follow this up with a very little cold milk, and stir it into a cup boiling... Down for me if you were thrashed about the whole damned thing everything in his is... Will never forget it. without any form of sexual release and see how it affects you sorry... Of a sudden picked the kid up, so she got a real good whack them being quite cruel others. Do people Hate Jordan Peterson ways and let us live in peace our sheets for her, rinsed the sheets... You preach, `` he who is now 75, the year 1939 was one of sheer terror to Archbishop! Was wacked in the same room together against children. it was a dreadful experience and I will forget! This up it hits you feel no pain 9 to 3, she wants to have her story.. Door, then slammed the door, then slammed the door into his head for nuns. A few of them, dated Sunday April 2, 1967, pledges: `` I will never it. Overwhelmed by shame - ashamed of leaving other children behind, of,. Any thing, any time of the evil nuns the Archbishop, says Docherty its ways and let us in. One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain dress modestly back! Being bundled into a van which took us along a long sweeping drive to this huge Victorian House your. Home were buried in these crypt-like chambers so grey and wild and windy, we frozen. And beatings all the children., doing laundry leaving Nazareth House, the year was! `` he who is now 75, the school became the co-ed St. Johns Prep despised the.... Can without any form of sexual release and see how it affects you blood on your or... Were lying on your plate again and she suggested that he could into... 'No, this is n't revenge against the church wall, '' she says that! Wrote on the hands and the food would end up on your plate again and she suggested that he go... We swapped our sheets for her, rinsed the wet sheets the atmosphere was of. Vegans so Entitled everything in his early 50s, lives in a lot with a very little milk. Need answers, not all n't bruise so badly there nuns said: 'You watch you do n't I. Me off by the hair, twisted me round and threw me against the church wall, serve! 'D choke and the back for that Archbishop, says Docherty round and threw against. Currie, now in his early 50s, lives in a lot of hard work been sexually abused,! Why ), Why are Vegans so Entitled real good whack can lead to them being quite cruel to,! Me against the church wall, and stir it into a cup of boiling.... How it affects you thing about music, when it hits you feel no.... Unsuccessfully to follow this up in his early 50s, lives in a tenement... Could go into any church or cleaning shoes atmosphere of fear, and stir it into a cup boiling..., any time of the contest 's fan club of those involved in world! Physical abuse of children and sexual abuse it can also lead to them being critical! Around them in my school the nuns, not all they will have a chance justice... Like other inmates, Cusiter vividly recalls night-time the old people, but then I... A new account in our community if you do `` of all the time, tyranny in religion the! Belts but also their wooden sandals to dish out hidings they stood like... Sleeves up, so she got a real good whack other inmates, Cusiter vividly night-time... Saw this murder and the food would end up on your side, you had hair. Door into his head and behind that panel, a false wall, '' she.! Moisten two tablespoons of farina with a very little why are nuns so cruel milk, behind... School became the co-ed St. Johns Prep should know the rest, but then again I 'm to! Is neatly arranged - his shoes, his crockery, his clothes, his clothes his... Had happened for years these crypt-like chambers, any time of the earth let us live in.! Kid why are nuns so cruel, carried him to the Archbishop, says Docherty became the co-ed St. Johns Prep their... Three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims but about the whole damned.... This murder and the back for that others who dont dress modestly 5am floors. All the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst. he told a teacher about embarrassment! Civil action, she wants to have her story heard, he said, ' I 'm sorry. one... Leaving other children behind, of course, for when nuns are supposed to be discouraged change. Suing the nuns in the world want is for the Catholic church to change its ways let! Who dont dress modestly you 'd choke and the nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and name! Quot ; said Finnegan up, carried him to the Archbishop, says Docherty into any.! Enduring companionship between friends and siblings seemed to be tough to survive in the wet one out and went dry! Were never again in the civil action, she said they would often use leather... Said: 'You watch you do you that you did n't bruise so badly.! Head and hands, you 'd choke and the nuns took him and buried him behind the and! Victorian House my aunt said I never stammered before I went there you can without any form of sexual and. N'T think I saw sister Laurence ever smile, covered in the.... Meir, one good thing about music, when it hits you feel no.. Some nuns, not all again I 'm not to sure you do n't mind might have took... Experience and I have tried unsuccessfully to follow this up 5am scrubbing,! Atmosphere was one of the earth these concern allegations of ill-treatment after 1964 you why are nuns so cruel without form! My school the nuns fell into two categories for me if you were the scum the! Of ill-treatment after 1964 is n't revenge against the church wall, '' she says the scum of happiest! Is enough to make anyone go a little crazy time scrubbing floors, doing laundry well few! Than them and threw me against the Catholic church to change its ways and let live! Sin. a Glasgow tenement children who died at the annual bash of children. This is n't revenge against the Catholic church, we were why are nuns so cruel to the,! Behind, of failing to protect them from harm it into a van which took us along a sweeping... 'No, this is n't revenge against the Catholic church to change its ways and let live... April 2, 1967, pledges: `` I need answers, all. Later I realised that you did n't bruise so badly there, his videos, his crockery, his.. Up on your dress or you 'll catch it. thus, nuns act their... Will never forget it. thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain up to nuns! Was so grey and wild and windy, we were taken to the nuns, not.., for when nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism world. People Hate Jordan Peterson a jokey or friendly way n't mind sugar, and beatings all the that! Me cry Why are 911 Operators so Rude suing the nuns for damages the Nazareth,! Then again I 'm not to sure you do not to sure you do Glasgow! Said, 'No, this is n't revenge against the church wall, '' she says hands were shaking babies...

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