sullster

In the midst of the ever expanding scandal of catholic priest child molestation revelations, I have read an interesting letter in the main Boston newspaper. The letter brings up the mental and physical abuse of children in Catholic schools, primarily in the past when Nuns were the teachers.

The woman who wrote the letter, told how she witnessed 6 or 7 year old boys having their heads slammed into walls because of some minor infraction. She went on to say that girls recieved less violent treatment. She witnessed many acts of cruelty and what would be considered abuse today, which led her to reject religion.

Is all this focus on the pedophilia of male priests, letting the actions of Nuns go unnoticed? Why aren't there middle aged adults who want to sue because of trauma inflicted by physical and emotional abuse by Nuns? Is this an issue?

JohnR

I have heard of abuses by Nuns, but having gone to Catholic School in the 50's in CA (Our Lady of Grace, Encino) for a short time I never saw any.
The Nuns were OK it was their religion that sucked.

Amos

The nuns were fun. I tripped one once because she had me sit in the waste basket as punishment for pulling her veil off (if that's what they call that thing on her head). Never got a licken but was send home with a letter. From the brothers and the priest I did but there I/we deserved it.

In the end I liked the brothers better but maybe that was because I was older then. I was good in gymnastics and that may have helped.

babelfish

I went to Catholic school from grades 1-8, and in all that time had only one nun who was a certifiable sadist. Looking back now, I think she may have been a lesbian, or even a transsexual (she chose the name "John Edward"). But for the most part the nuns I had were wonderful.

livius drusus

I went to a nun-run catholic school myself for 12 years, and even though they were a goofy bunch, none of them were cruel and most of them really loved the students. However, there are quite a few stories coming out of the UK on child abuse by nuns. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid_931000/931242.stm" target="_blank">Here</a> is a report of the recent trial of an abusive nun in Scotland.

I've also read a lot in the past few years about an increasing number of abuse allegations against nuns (and brothers) who ran children's schools, orphanages, hospitals in Ireland. The Irish government established the Laffoy Commission to investigate allegations ranging from <a href="http://www.paddydoyle.org/sexabuse.html" target="_blank">rape</a> to <a href="http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2002/0123/breaking65.htm" target="_blank">involuntary medical trials</a> to slave child labor at state-supported "industrial schools".

There was a series called <a href="http://www.rte.ie/tv/statesoffear/home.html" target="_blank">States of Fear</a> on Irish television a few years back which tackled the topic of industrial schools and the systematic abuse of their charges.

[ March 16, 2002: Message edited by: livius drusus ]</p>

hinduwoman

Maybe there is increase because reasonable people are leaving organized religion and only the mentally disturbed are taking to the profession?

livius drusus

I think that's certainly the case in the US, but I don't think it applies as clearly to Ireland. Abuse allegations are on the rise, but from what I've read the cases of abuse span decades from the early 1900s to the present, particularly before 1970.

In the US, the allegations are mainly of sexual abuse by parish priests. In Ireland, they involve generations of mental, physical and sexual abuse in long-lived institutions perpetrated by entire orders.

The abuse was institutionalized as discipline or learning a saleable skill. The organization themselves provided a consistently hierarchical, authoritarian and violent model of behavior. Then, with the collusion of the government, managed to hide their true nature and operate undisturbed behing a curtain of faith and obedience until the last couple of decades.

Born Free

My own mother went to school in Ireland(1942) run entirely by nuns and was beaten on a daily basis. I don't know if she was subjected to any other abuse as she would never tell me something like that. I know she would never seek punishment for any of the nuns as she would be ostracised by her own family and she simply has too much respect for nuns in general. I'm afraid she moved to Scotland much too late to lose any of her faith.

Oresta

My husband attended a parish school here in the U.S, in the '40s. He has no use for nuns (Or the church), having been knocked around frquently as a child. Once when he was an innocent seven or eight years old, a nun kept him after school and as "punishment" required that he write down all the bad words he knew. Sickos in the religious orders isn't anything new. He says the worst thing about the Catholic Church is that he could only leave it once.

Sandy

Well, this thread brought back some crappy memories. I was raised in a Catholic home for children from age 8 to 17. I'm 50 years old now and I still have dreams about the place. I personally had my head knocked into a wall while being backhanded by one of the nuns for the dreaded infraction of being an 8 year old jumping up and down while standing in line waiting to have my hair washed.

I personally saw much mistreatment of children that by today's standards would constitute gross abuse. At one point, a child with cerebral palsy was being disciplined and ended up with a broken leg out of the deal. Apparently, they did the same thing with nuns who "slipped up" as they did with priests. They shuffled them off on someone else.

[ March 17, 2002: Message edited by: Sandy ]</p>