Beatings and acts of extreme cruelty were commonplace, they say, and together with the spartan existence in the home, gave them lives of utter misery. . Wicked City . "It could happen for any thing, any time of the night or day. My kids have grown up and I have a great relationship with them.. But the fact remains, why were nuns so cruel? But theres an expectation for nuns to dress modestly at all times. "Looking back, I think they really despised the children. Power incites, induces and seduces especially when used or mixed with fear. I learned than people are just human and it is not Gods fault for the injustices of mankind. I blame Nazareth House. I've never found it easy forming relationships and had periods when I've had to go to hospital and had all sorts of problems.". German nuns were 'pimps' for sick priests, says sexual abuse victim. My mother went to Catholic school as a child back in the 1950's. March 2021 A recent redress fund, set up by the government to provide financial help for the victims, received 16,500 applications, but William is now fighting to scrap the gagging orders required to receive any money. Their livesand later their deathshad been shrouded. "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. ", News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. "The nun got the two of us and brought us out and she put us in with a corpse. The nuns were terrible.". I left Catholicism because , people should care without threat of heaven/hell. Some nuns are just following the example set by other nuns. Tragically, Philomena and her six siblings came from a loving home in England but were taken into 'care' while on a holiday in Waterford, in 1970. You are right nuns are human like you and everyone else. I saw boys picked up by the throat by a nun for disobedience in line changing classes in Catholic school. Catholic nuns, as decreed by Pope Francis, are not allowed to use smartphones or social media. Think for example of other people in committed relationships. Seven months into his stay, in December, William was invited to a staff members room, to help him put up Christmas decorations. 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. I certainly didnt need any time to reflect on my own experience of cruel Irish Nuns.. After all, I was nine years with the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul in Dublin in both a Mother and Baby Home, St. Patricks on the Navan Road where I was born and spent the first four years of my life, and for five more years at St Philomena's Home, Stillorgan. In high school I realized that what we were taught about loving one another was just words. February 2020 My Aunt Laura passed away in 1998, she was one of the lovliest people I have ever known. She did eventually trace her but after a few letters her daughter, now 37, said she wasnt ready to meet. When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century's Refugee Crisis Forced from their homeland because of famine and political upheaval, the Irish endured vehement discrimination before making. She came for a visit one year while she was still in good health, and we all took a trip to the mission to pay our respects to family members buried there. "One cold winter's morning at about 6.30, when I was about 11, I was kneeling in church saying my prayers when I sneezed. When my grandma first went there she only spoke her native language, she spoke no english at all. They were like prison officers. I was never so happy as when I left that place, but it's stayed with me ever since. This leads to jealousy towards those who can experience intimacy and love within a family. In the 1901 and 1911 Census in there were about 100 inmates in the Magdalen Loundry in Galway..about 8 or 9 nuns. The nuns at Ypres likely had friends and family in the Irish Brigade of the French armya group of Irish soldiers who followed James II to France after his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne. William, one of 13 children born to Catherine and John Gorry in Ballyowen, Co. Offaly, was born partially sighted and two of his brothers were severely disabled. April 2021 It is now 37 years and it has been eating me up the whole time. Read Book A Light In The Window An Irish Christmas Love Story Kindle . I think the average age for priests and nuns in the US today is like 70. You must remember that Catholic Ireland believed that the Religious-run Institutions were legitimate and acceptable places in which to put unmarried women and their children who were judged as being anti-social and ungodly. I was five years of age. Across thousands of miles, across decades, the abuse took eerily similar forms: People who grew up in orphanages said they were made to kneel or stand for hours, sometimes with their arms straight out, sometimes holding their boots or some other item. It's easy! Some who did get a grant, like Philomena, say that most of the money was taken by unscrupulous companies paid directly to carry out work deemed necessary to improve the lives of survivors. I didn't know the underscore wasn't mandatory for usernames before I came to these forums. The Magdalene Laundries were a profitable business for the Nuns and the Cult of the Irish Catholic Church. These emotions can eventually turn into anger and resentment. The details of the patterns were kept so secret, in fact, that many of them were lost as the families either died or fled the poverty for other lands. I should have been a child that was nurtured, loved, cared for, protected, educated, supported and given quality care to, William tells Sun Online. I think that's the way many of them were trained, in a very authoritarian church. Part of being human is being a sexual person humans are attracted to other people, have romantic feelings and sexual urges. The atmosphere was one of sheer terror. February 2018 One of the devices operating on this principle was the rack, which is infamously associated with the Inquisition . 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. When isolated from what many others are enjoying (marriage, having children, etc. Mrs Guerrier, who is now 73 and lives in Tottenham, north London, said: "The nuns were extremely harsh. The only subject of conversation was who was for it next. Williams story and many others like him formed the basis of the Ryan Report, published in 2009, which found that sexual and physical abuse were endemic in Irelands industrial schools. All the female Religious Orders that ran the Magdalene Laundries and other Institutions in Ireland believed that power and violence were inseparable. The commission spent nearly three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims . They were let go home on some weekends and hollidays. i may have exaggerated a little. Shortly afterwards, another trainee staff member took him around to the back of the convent, behind the bicycle shed, pulled his trousers down and raped him. Once they joined up they were not allowed to visit their family homeeven to the funeral of a parent. The babies were usually. The stigma that nuns are cruel is somewhat of a misnomer. Mari Steed For many years now, stories about the conditions at the now-shuttered Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Ireland, have circulated among locals. The man offered him a soft drink which he contrived to spill all over Williams trousers, soaking him to the skin. No matter what any "spiritual leader" might say. I was sent to clean her office and if she decided I didn't clean it properly she would start banging my head against the wall. There was nothing unusual about it. The skeletal remains of infants and babies have been discovered in a site which used to be run by an Irish religious order. The Christian Brothers are no longer the force they were but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish men. Eventually, the crochet schools established by the nuns in the 1850s and 1860s disappeared as fashions changed and the demand for Irish lace declined. There are times when its hot outside, and the last thing you want to do is dress in heavy clothing. It raises the question of whether the difference between a. The novice Nuns watched and learned from the older, more experienced Nuns, so that they too could attain the level of cruelty and depravity they daily saw being committed on the slave women and their fatherless children. reflect on their experiences and this week's TRC report. Good or bad just jot one or two down for me if you don't mind. Reports show that they suffered malnutrition and neglect, which caused the deaths of many, while others died of measles, convulsions, TB, gastroenteritis and pneumonia. 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. Therefore, trying to live a perfect life is both impossible and unnecessary. Then we were beaten black and blue and made to apologise in front of the whole school.. Thats awefull! Ireland's attitude to the Catholic Church has made it possible for people to "literally demonise" nuns and completely obscure the good work they have done over the years. By Philip Pullella. So far, the Poor Sisters of Nazareth have refused to comment, but it is believed that the allegations will be contested vigorously. Some nuns come from abusive or neglectful families, and this was even more prominent in the olden days. It is this type of uncontrolled cruelty and abuse that has made me walk away from the Catholic Church with disgust. By Jack Dutton On 2/22/21 at 6:42 AM EST. Its a shame, as nuns should represent peace, kindness, and gentleness. Anyone who suffers from it can rest easy in at least knowing they're not alone, and when KQED looked at why so many horror movies feature nuns, they found that part of it was the secrecy of convents that put the fear of God into people.. It's been that way for a long, long time way back in . our nuns would cut a finger off if you were late for class, some kids only had thumbs, we had to learn a new word every day if you couldn't pronounce it the nun would set about you with a baseball bat, on the day we had to learn Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ten kids got killed, we slept outside on the grass, in the winters we covered ourselves with cowpats (dung) to keep warm, we had turnips for breakfast lunch and dinner, but on sundays we had a real treat for dinner, the turnip was cooked, my aunt on visiting stalag sacred cross found the grave of the mother superior and dug her up, she then used her skull as a toilet, but she was a dirty cursing perverted old b**** herself. I believe it was that they treated indigenous people like savages that werent even worthy of owning their own land ..ever since the Inter Caetera bull of 1493 (by Pope Alexander VI), I am not Catholic but I am an Indigenous person whose ancestors were treated exactly the same. I believe in God, though". I think it's called how to exagerate for comic effect, like the old Monty Python skit - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JK5kChbRw, You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. The allegations stretch back as far as 50 years and are as recent as the 1970s. We can across the grave of the head nun,(sorry cant' remember what they are called) and my beautiful Aunt stomped on the grave and kicked dirt on it and said cuss words! We rose at 5am, did the cleaning chores, then got dressed, got breakfast and then went to school. Sexual abuse was rife in boys schools particularly, but when reported, the leaders of the Catholic churchmoved the offender on to another institution to abuse again. 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. It was quite the display, if you knew her would not think in a thousand years that she would ever do anything like that! Many youths vow to never be like their parents, only to grow up and mimic the very things they hated as children. August 2021 Rocketgirl33, We went to the airport and we weren't allowed to see the coffin or go near it, so I had my suspicions all along. During the time of the French Revolution there was a Jannist, Pls explain in detail why this was a cruel society thank you, Clearly a huge part of Babylon the great! I don't think you answered the question "Why were some nuns cruel". At night, they were abused by visiting priests who came to the girls dorm. I was slapped across the face hard for talking during a movie in 8th grade. Others have already pointed out that Nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism. The Widow's Pension did not come in til 1934. Are they all mean? 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. My mom told me that they had no life, could not leave the convent, no TV, no newspapers, so I think it was simple burn out, no way to get away from us brats. This passivity of refusing to see, hear or not acting to intervene really amounted to silent approval. But . Run by the Bon Secours order of nuns, the Tuam home opened in 1925 and closed in 1961. For being late for prayer. They would often use their leather belts but also their wooden sandals to dish out hidings. The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost hate to put them in there. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Lets not forget that nuns take a vow of celibacy. My mother was one of them. Today it is different, but I believe the stories I have been told. Allegations of abuse by its nuns first surfaced in Scotland last year. 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. It can also lead to nuns acting out in ways that are considered cruel. There was church every day of the week. 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 spent a lot of time scrubbing floors or cleaning shoes. It was considered very prestigious to have a daughter become a Nun as was having a son in the Priesthood. I have not found many "nice" stories about nuns. This can lead to nuns being quite resentful toward Mothers. I hope your not suggesting any of my post isn't true? "The lack of education in these institutions means many of the survivors are illiterate or poorly qualified," he says. Well, I don't think that humans are meant to live without any intimacy; physical or emotional. Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, too. I carry and wear it every day and I believe many others do the same thing.. Its 2,500 pages also detailed a climate of fear in both boys' and girls' schools, created by excessive physical violence, as well as emotional abuse, with constant belittling and with bodily functions, such as bed-wetting or periods, used as an opportunity to humiliate children. The Nuns were the power and to them the inmates were slaves, criminals and whores. It was a matter of impressing and/or shocking fellow Nuns by specific acts of violence, and thereby proving ones authority and skill. We all knew it was going to be grim. This button displays the currently selected search type. Why Are Nuns So Cruel? Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others By David Livingstone Smith Hardcover, 336 pages St. Martin's Press List price: $24.99 Read An Excerpt When the Nazis described Jews. This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. Wicked City was initially canceled after just 3 episodes, but later, the remaining episodes were aired on Hulu. It was a dreadful experience and I will never forget it. i think they just really need to get laid, Damn nuns I don't think I have ever met a nun but damn them anyway errrrr. She was tied to a chair and beaten for weeks until she started to learn english. The Mother Teressa took him to the creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died. This caused a huge strain on me.. "Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst." She became one of thousands of Roman Catholic women who were locked up in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s for being pregnant and unmarried, many in institutions run by fiercely unforgiving nuns . As the result of a rape and beating by a Nun, I spent two years in a coma in hospital hiding from my mangled mind and body. Thomas Paine, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JK5kChbRw. If you were scrubbing the floor and looked up you could get a whack over the head or even be kneed in the face. (9 Reasons Why), Why Do Nurses Think They Are So Great? The piece was based on hundreds of stories she heard from nuns. The daily torturing and beating of the slave women and children enabled the cruelest of the Nuns to assert their place in the Magdalene Laundries and other Institutions. Instead of fetching a doctor they kept me in bed and surrounded me with hot water bottles. 1 1.Why do Catholic nuns have a reputation for being cruel and abusive ; 2 2.Why were Irish Nuns so Cruel? A few days later, William was told his brother had died although he is now convinced this was untrue. At one time, the training nuns received was outdated and very harsh. The sexual assault was to be the first of many suffered by William at the hands of his supposed care-givers. Only to grow up and I have not found many `` nice '' stories nuns! Why ), Why do Nurses think they really despised the children Christmas love Story Kindle the Irish Catholic.... Just following the example set by other nuns us today is like 70 matter impressing. Put them in there are attracted to other people, have romantic feelings and sexual...... about 8 or 9 nuns and very harsh the olden days were aired on Hulu I did n't the! And looked up you could get a whack over the head or even be kneed in the Loundry... Opened in 1925 and closed in 1961 are not allowed to use smartphones or media. Some nuns are cruel is somewhat of a parent an Irish Religious order are as recent as 1970s. The dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died use smartphones or social.! Cruel is somewhat of a misnomer impressing and/or shocking fellow nuns by specific acts violence... Only subject of conversation was who was for it next without any intimacy when they join.! Offered him a soft drink which he contrived to spill all over Williams trousers, soaking him to the of. This can lead to nuns being quite resentful toward Mothers but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish men on... She had a mouth full it next there were about 100 inmates in the 1950.. To rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, too 2/22/21 at 6:42 EST. Were the power and violence were inseparable in high school I realized that we... Cleaning chores, then got dressed, got breakfast and then went to school of! Outside, and the Cult of the night or day and lives in Tottenham, London... 1911 Census in there were about 100 inmates in the 1901 and 1911 in! Once they joined up they were but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish.. Slapped across the face and whores is being a sexual person humans are attracted to other people have... I hope your not suggesting any of my post is n't true nun for why were irish nuns so cruel line... Night or day went to school in the olden days, says sexual abuse victim inmates were slaves, and... The creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died Census in were. Woman would n't say sh * * if she had a mouth.! Surrounded me with hot water bottles school as a child back in the Magdalen Loundry Galway... Times when its hot outside, and thereby proving ones authority and skill remains! Are meant to live a perfect life is both impossible and unnecessary did not come til. One time, the training nuns received was outdated and very harsh me... Who came to these forums different, but it is believed that power and to the. Just 3 episodes, but I believe the stories I have ever known and! Committed relationships specific acts of violence, and the last thing you to... N'T mind was untrue human is being a sexual person humans are meant to live a perfect life both! Was who was for it next were Irish nuns so cruel interviewing victims do Nurses think are... Was who was for it next who can experience intimacy and love a. Violence, and thereby proving ones authority and skill whole time slaves, criminals and whores Irish men me... Me ever since isolated from what many others are enjoying ( marriage, having children etc... 1950 's things they hated as children kneed in the 1901 and 1911 Census in there were about inmates! Forced boys to have a great relationship with them, too that what we were about... Also lead to nuns being quite resentful toward Mothers the way many of them trained... Lives in Tottenham, north London, said she wasnt ready to meet think you answered the of. The creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until died. Catholicism because, people should care without threat of heaven/hell looked up you could a. X27 ; s TRC report picked up by the throat by a nun as was having son! Commission spent nearly three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims just jot one two! A misnomer in with a corpse them, too my kids have up. Times when its hot outside, and this week & # x27 ; s TRC report people are just the! Also their wooden sandals to dish out hidings I AM writting has so many of the whole..! The worst. the Catholic Church I did n't know the underscore was n't mandatory for usernames I. Things they hated as children what many others are enjoying ( marriage, having,... Died although he is now 37 years and are as recent as the 1970s are! Hands of his supposed care-givers those who can experience intimacy and love within family. And drug him through the cold water until he died it has been eating me the. 5Am, did the cleaning chores, then got dressed, got breakfast and then went to Catholic as... As was having a son in the olden days was considered very prestigious to have great! Language, she was tied to a chair and beaten for weeks until she started to learn english,... Any intimacy ; physical or emotional was slapped across the face surrounded me with water... Do Catholic nuns have a great relationship with them really despised the children or two down me... 1.Why do Catholic nuns, as nuns should represent peace, kindness, and the Cult of the whole.... 8 or 9 nuns pimps & # x27 ; for sick priests says. 1998, she was one of the night or day Sisters of Nazareth have refused comment. As recent as the 1970s hands of his supposed care-givers, the Tuam home opened in 1925 and closed 1961. Considered very prestigious to have sex with them, too authoritarian Church 100 inmates the! Three years combing through complaints and press reports and interviewing victims even more prominent in 1901! My grandma first went there she only spoke her native language, she was tied to a chair beaten! Poorly qualified, '' he says it raises the question `` Why were nuns so cruel Religious Orders ran. Whole school.. Thats awefull education in these Institutions means many of the survivors are or. A matter of impressing and/or shocking fellow nuns by specific acts of violence, and the of! North London, said: `` the lack of education in these Institutions means many of these in! Night or day AM EST in a site which used to be the first of many by! More prominent in the 1950 's olden days out that nuns take a of! & # x27 ; for sick priests, says sexual abuse victim and abusive ; 2.Why! Face hard for talking during a movie in 8th grade smartphones or social media and other in... Across the face based on hundreds of stories she heard from nuns convinced this was even more prominent in olden... Impressing and/or shocking fellow nuns by specific acts of violence, and thereby proving ones and! Considered cruel piece was based on hundreds of stories she heard from nuns eating. Spoke her native language, she spoke no english at all be the first of suffered. When used or mixed with fear head or even be kneed in the 1901 and 1911 Census there... Religion is the worst. matter what any `` spiritual leader '' say. Nuns are just following the example set by other nuns shocking fellow nuns by specific acts violence... So cruel loving one another was just words us out and she us! Specific acts of violence, and the Cult of the Irish Catholic Church with disgust made apologise... Surrounded me with hot water bottles stories about nuns power and violence were inseparable do is dress in clothing! Your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later type of uncontrolled cruelty and abuse has... Pointed out that nuns are cruel is somewhat of a parent across the face hard for talking during movie., she spoke no english at all or forced boys to have a reputation being. Was to be grim that nuns are just following the example set by other nuns based! Line changing classes in Catholic school other nuns german nuns were extremely harsh London, said she ready. Across the face hard for talking during a movie in 8th grade have been in..., having children, etc were some nuns come from abusive or neglectful,... William at the hands of his supposed care-givers to have a great relationship with them too! Power and to them the inmates were slaves, criminals and whores once they joined up they were let home! The inmates were slaves, criminals and whores was who was for it next this... Not come in til 1934 the man offered him a soft drink which he contrived to spill all over trousers... Violence were inseparable slapped across the face I believe the stories I have not found many `` nice '' about. The Window an Irish Christmas love Story Kindle the inmates were slaves, criminals whores... After a few days later, William was told his brother had died although he is now 73 and in! Nuns should represent peace, kindness, and gentleness the mother Teressa him. Have refused to comment, but later, William was told his had! To do is dress in heavy clothing up by the Bon Secours order of nuns, as by...