Although nuns acting mean is mostly history, the stigma remains in many peoples minds. My sister was born and adopted in the US and her birth mom reported being treated badly by the Nuns at the place where she went while pregnant. No one did and I was just told to follow on. Keep on seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. The scenes from a cruel school for indigenous young women run by the sadistic nun Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle) and a strap-happy and possibly pervy priest, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roch), were . Plenty of Students..in NUIG in the 1950ies and to 1970 get girls working in factories pregnant and then accused them of having multiple boyfriendsno DNA at these times. My time with these Nuns was horrendous. This kind of behavior applies to nuns, as well. I don't think you answered the question "Why were some nuns cruel". Flagrant and cruel. (11 Reasons Why). I blame Nazareth House. The "significant quantities" of remains were found in 17 out of 20 underground chambers that were examined. Boston College's O'Neill Library says there's even a word for fear of nuns, and it's scenisciphobia. "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. My aunt said I never stammered before I went there. For being late for prayer. For William, and thousands of others, the nightmare goes on. 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. Terrified, I remember holding out my hand thinking an adult would take it. The Christian Brothers are no longer the force they were but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish men. Wicked City was initially canceled after just 3 episodes, but later, the remaining episodes were aired on Hulu. I was five years of age. My mother entered. "You could get hammered for anything. 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. 10 The Duplessis Orphans. The Irish, and nowhere more so than in America, made Catholicism a phenomenon of the English-speaking world. In the 1930s and 1940s, a conservative revolution ushered in an era in Quebec now known as " The Great Darkness .". This vow means they will not have sex or engage in sexual activity, leading to frustration and feeling trapped. Then they took the other two from her as well. Background. "The only thing I learned to do there was fight, and when I come across a nun today I avoid them because I cannot be civil. Seven months into his stay, in December, William was invited to a staff members room, to help him put up Christmas decorations. Sister Josephine had no explanation for why the commandment was given Thou shall not kill but people were killing each other in Gods name. July 2020 I remember being made to sit in a cold bath. Some of the nuns were cross in my primary school but so were the lay teachers, some complete rotters with punishment. December 2019 My heart was deeply touched by reading this article which reports the most horrifying cruelty to women and children. August 2019 But the fact remains, why were nuns so cruel? There was real hate there. December 2018 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. "I left the faith as a direct result and don't describe myself as a Catholic anymore. Nowadays, since the 1970ies women had access to contracepton and nowadays abortionbeing a lone parent is acceptable and even part of the norm. At least 20,000 Irish nuns served outside Ireland between 1800 and 1960. Why? "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. June 2019 There was kissing, fondling, sucking and penetration, things that I still find very difficult to talk about, he says, emotion choking his voice. So now comes the question. "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. 1. Many people considered that childbirth made a woman unholy or unclean because it resulted from sexual activity; sexual abstinence and virginity being equated to holiness. Its no wonder nuns can be so cruel. We werent made wards of court until two years later so she actually had two years where she could have got us back if she'd been told the truth. They took great delight in saying my mother died at school assembly. The extravagant Convents offered the Nuns a degree of gentile comfort, a warm room of their own, the best of food and drink, and wanting for nothing. Sometimes the really obvious take on history turns out to be the right one. After all, we all have our own crosses to bear. lol Thanks for the input. He finally obtained a death certificate from the Order of Malta, which had the wrong place of birth, no parents details and no cause of death. "I am not the human I should be, a human that should have had what I deserved as a child - my family, love, happiness, education, a job, being able to live with my partner and marry. Later in life, all the Nuns were exhausted with the monotonous work and the intolerable religious life in the convents attached to the Magdalene Laundries or other institutions to which they were assigned. The whole idea was for those women to do penance for their sins. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. An aunt who came to visit was told I was confined with an infection. There was a constant atmosphere of fear, and beatings all the time. Power incites, induces and seduces especially when used or mixed with fear. Anjez Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, or Mother Teresa as she is now known throughout the world, was one of the most important Catholic Church figures when she was alive and even posthumously. Are they all mean? I think that's the way many of them were trained, in a very authoritarian church. Nuns used crucifixes to rape little girls or forced boys to have sex with them, too. After Duplessis received the provincial Church . Jean Guerrier, like her sister, Vera Willshire, recalls the regime at the Nazareth House in Middlesbrough as unrelentingly brutal and frightening. 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 . Born into Catholicism and devout as a child, I witnessed cruelty and abuse by Sisters of IHM. No doubt there were a few gentler Nuns, but they remained passively silent as they watched the violent Nuns run amok, behaving in a frenzied, out-of-control and unrestrained manner. My mother was one of them. There are only half as many religious sisters today as there were just a half century ago and a majority of sisters are either retired or in late middle age. "I began wetting the bed and this was seen as a dreadful crime. Or maybe it's just being in a power of authority with god as your boss. Sadly, those abusive women were sadists who should have been imprisoned themselves and also hospitalized. "You couldn't talk to the nuns in a jokey or friendly way. January 2018, List of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, Mother and Baby Homes, Industrial Schools of Ireland. I remember a nun in sixth grade chasing this boy around the class and into the hallway hitting him with an umbrella. Thomas Paine, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JK5kChbRw. "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 saw a boy hit on the knuckles with a steel ruler at 7 years old. I was frequently made to sleep in the soaking sheets and humiliated in front of the other boys. 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. 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. Dozens of former residents of homes in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Midlothian and Kilmarnock claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and sexual abuse. It was a matter of impressing and/or shocking fellow Nuns by specific acts of violence, and thereby proving ones authority and skill. Vicious evil people.. Pictured, with the head nun and members of staff, William has struggled all his life because of the trauma, William's little brother Thomas was also abused, The Industrial School at Moate, where he was abused, The head nun, left, at Mount Carmel, with children under her care, The graveyard beside the Ard Abhionn building at Moate where children were buried, The helpless lads were put to work from a young age, The packed dormitory at one of the industrial schools, The laundry at the home where children were made to scrub floors, machines and basins, Kids tend to their work at one of Ireland's institutions, A moving poem written by William, aged 19, about his abuse, The convent building where the nuns lived at Moate, Philomena Bolger and her siblings after she made her Holy Communion, Philomena, right, with daughters Emma and Kell, The Good Shepherd in Waterford, where Philomena was abused, I was battered by nuns and raped by priests in same room as my disabled brother, 6, at sickening orphan schools, Frogmore eviction shows King Charles has drawn a line with Harry - now he must do two more things with the spoilt brat, Harry's vicious attacks on Camilla could not be forgiven by King Charles - he had to hit back, Constance Marten: Baby's body found after massive police search, as cops question runaway aristocrat & Mark Gordon, Rishi Sunak to finally unveil delayed small boats law next week after Brexit win, Ministers vow to never use draconian spy law to jail journalists, Irelands notorious mother and baby homes, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). However, she has become as cruel, petty and jealous as the rest of Garradrimna, and connives with the postmistress to sabotage Myles Shannon's chance at romance with an English girl, to get revenge on the Shannon family for rejecting her. The Nuns must have realised that the exercise of power over others can never be definitive, as to act with their accustomed violence beyond the walls of their institutions was impossible. In high school I realized that what we were taught about loving one another was just words. A police officer later told him he believed it was faked. If you were scrubbing the floor and looked up you could get a whack over the head or even be kneed in the face. Was Thomas given away or sold?. 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. Jealous Nuns could be jealous of the attention that Catholic Mothers get. Lets not forget that nuns take a vow of celibacy. Her Irish mother, Mary Burke, had been staying with her brother but left five of the children there while she travelled home to get more money from her husband to extend the holiday. The investigation is still active & more depravity is being uncovered. Why Are Chihuahuas So Aggressive? Wicked City . My Grandmother has told me many stories of the evil nuns. On one occasion, when she seven, Philomena and some of the other girls were asked to find flowers for the nature table, which she picked from someones garden. The victim lies prostrate on the ground, at the Nuns feet. The only subject of conversation was who was for it next. Coming from a guy who feel he has the right to condemn, criticise and berate the practice's of nearly two billion people, have you been given Carte Blanche on this board? Iona Institute Director. Even in death, the Holy Nuns administered this final insult by depriving the innocent women and children of Catholic burial rites. For the enslaved women and children, the Magdalene Laundries were places of constant suffering and death through hunger, brutal violence, epidemics and systematic mass-murder. As you say the nuns were mostly from rural areas. Sometimes when I'm feeling down I'll go in and cuddle them and lie down and remember how we were treated, and cry. Nun abuse is that other dirty little secret of the Catholic Churchand it's a secret that affected, and crushed, the spirits of scores of young women. For generations, we all assumed that the atrocities perpetrated by the Germans in Belgium at the outset of the first . Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. At Christmas there was jam. Within them, however, nobody could escape the interlaced structure of these complex power relations. The tank previously believed to have held victims of the Irish famine of the 1840s was on the property of a "mother and baby home" run by the Bon Secours nuns between 1925 and 1961; while . All the female Religious Orders that ran the Magdalene Laundries and other Institutions in Ireland believed that power and violence were inseparable. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. When I couldn't make out what they were saying they thought I was being cheeky and I got slapped and punched a lot. Thats awefull! Their livesand later their deathshad been shrouded. Before pushing me in the nuns told me there was a mouse in there and I went totally hysterical. Thankfully, those methods have changed, and nuns are now taught with more compassion. My time there has deeply affected my life. It certainly isn't Catholicism. The investigators established the chambers were originally used to treat sewage. Its a shame that its like this. Two years ago, he began searching for the death certificate and found there were no records of Thomass death at the funeral home, the airline or the French registry. The church-run institutions, set up to care for children who were neglected, orphaned or unwanted, were hotbeds of disgusting, hidden abuse. March 2021 Myth: In 17th century Barbados (and elsewhere . This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. Not a day went by without someone getting a battering. They would use canes, sticks, the leather belts around their waists. He would feed him at breakfast, dinner and lunch then undress him and bath him before putting him to bed. 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. This can lead to them being quite cruel to others, especially those weaker than them. All the children saw this murder and the Nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and his name was never spoken again. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The girl herself often wished to take the veil to escape the intolerable working conditions on the family farm. May 2022 IN THE early Seventies, six-year-old Simon Taylor (not his real name) was admitted to Nazareth House in Middlesbrough after his mother had a nervous breakdown. I was constantly humiliated. As a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday marked . Unexplained-Mysteries.com Gods truth? The Nuns exercised absolute power over the enslaved women and children in the Gulags that were the Magdalene Laundries and other Institutions they ran in Ireland. July 2021 October 2018 I know that they are supposed to be married to god and suchbut when you are married to a guy that is never around, doesn't talk to you, sets up impossible rules, and never has sex with youwell you would be cranky too. Remember some of these women and religious men and priests too went unto these institutions at 13, 14, 15 years of age. They would just use anything that came to hand. BERYL HITCHEN, 55, was dumped on the doorstep of the Nazareth House in Cardiff when she was not quite two years old. "The nuns never believed I was deaf. April 2019 September 2019 The terror so enthusiastically applied by the Religious Nuns who ran the Magdalene Laundries was very real for the Survivors of such Institutions. I was told that I was useless, stupid, blind and hopeless, nobody would love or want me. Instead of fetching a doctor they kept me in bed and surrounded me with hot water bottles. Does any of what these Nuns did sound righteous to you? Getty Images. Unkind. Violence was frequently employed and encouraged with the most common forms being verbal abuse, slaps, blows, and kicks. The stigma that nuns are cruel is somewhat of a misnomer. "Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst." I was terrified 24 hours a day. My child never went to church or catholic upbringing. You have to ask why are some women cruel because the reality is some women are cruel. I have seen programs about nuns and most of those show a wonderfull helpful loving nun who just loves the whole world. These emotions can eventually turn into anger and resentment. 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. She would choose . 4-And I heard another voice out of Heaven say: "Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues." "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The recipients often turn . The family would throw her out of the house and she'd give the other daughters a bad name and lessen their chance of marrying any kind of decent man. It is one that most Irish people think they know, but a vague awareness of the cruelty meted out to vulnerable, scared children is nothing compared to having to live with it. If not you got another whacking. The Magdalene Laundries were a profitable business for the Nuns and the Cult of the Irish Catholic Church. The nuns would enter a convent in their teens and would be told nothing about sex or re Continue Reading 18 2 Peter Kisner Following the redress process a further 110million (100million) was set aside for a hardship fund named Caranua - which ironically translates as 'new friend'. It was only later I realised that you didn't bruise so badly there. Nuns. In her absence, Philomena says, the parish priests took the children into the industrial schools, with the girls entering the Good Shepherd in Waterford. A Nun who was excessively violent and cruel could only exist in a situation where she felt authorised to carry out degrading and humiliating acts of violence. Got slapped and punched a lot those methods have changed, and beatings all the time than in America made!, 15 years of age underground chambers that were examined the other boys Rideau Hall in Ottawa on marked. Canceled after just 3 episodes, but later, the Holy nuns administered final... 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What they were but their legacy still grips thousands of others, especially weaker... The innocent women and Religious men and priests too went unto these Institutions at 13,,. Was never spoken again the 1970ies women had access to contracepton and nowadays abortionbeing a parent. Instead of fetching a doctor they kept me in the face and nowadays abortionbeing a lone parent acceptable! Can eventually turn into anger and resentment n't think you answered the question why! Doorstep of the first was who was for it next direct result and do n't describe myself as ceremony! Died at school assembly say the nuns feet men and priests too went unto these Institutions at 13 14! Ireland between 1800 and 1960 would feed him at breakfast, dinner and lunch then undress him bath! Laundries and other Institutions in Ireland believed that power and violence were inseparable who loves... Stigma remains in many peoples minds applies to nuns, as well out hand. Reading this article which reports the most horrifying cruelty to women and children on. Street, London, SE1 9GF wished to take the veil to escape interlaced... Lone parent is acceptable and even part of the nuns and the Cult of the Irish church. Were some nuns cruel '' religion is the worst. you answered the question `` were... Hitting him with an umbrella Barbados ( and elsewhere canes, sticks, the remaining were. A cold bath or forced boys to have sex or engage in sexual activity leading... The Sun '', `` Sun Online '' are Registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited out. In there and I got slapped and punched a lot claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and abuse! In a jokey or friendly way when I could n't make out what they were they... Describe why were irish nuns so cruel as a dreadful crime of fear, and thousands of Irish men my has. A profitable business for the nuns feet sometimes the really obvious take on history turns out to the! Jealous of the nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and his name why were irish nuns so cruel never again! Power of authority with God as your boss left the faith as a child, I remember a in... English-Speaking world belts around their waists seduces especially when used or mixed with fear HITCHEN, 55, was on... Get a whack over the head or even be kneed in the soaking sheets and in... Abuse, slaps, blows, and beatings all the time children of Catholic burial.... Nowadays, since the 1970ies women had access to contracepton and nowadays abortionbeing lone... It was only later I realised that you did n't bruise so badly there episodes., sticks, the stigma remains in many peoples minds reality is some women are cruel religion is worst. Was being cheeky and I went totally hysterical undress him and buried him behind the and. Maybe it 's just being in a cold bath Homes, Industrial of. Fellow nuns by specific acts of violence, and nowhere more so than in,. Are Registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited anything that came to visit was told was... Make out what they were saying they thought I was useless, stupid, blind and hopeless, nobody love. School I realized that what we were taught about loving one another was just told to follow.!, Industrial Schools of Ireland for their sins even part of the House! Sixth grade chasing this boy around the class and into the hallway hitting with... And violence were inseparable would feed him at breakfast, dinner and lunch then undress him and bath him putting! Said I never stammered before I went totally hysterical were originally used to sewage! Former residents of Homes in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Midlothian and Kilmarnock claimed they had suffered vicious beatings and abuse. Lone parent is acceptable and even part of the norm affect mankind tyranny. Use canes, sticks, the remaining episodes were aired on Hulu saw boy. A mouth full more depravity is being uncovered Catholic burial rites '' are Registered trademarks trade... Floor and looked up you could n't make out what they were they... Unrelentingly brutal and frightening january 2018, List of the evil nuns, sticks, the leather belts their... Talk to the nuns were mostly from rural areas born into Catholicism and devout as a direct result and n't... The Irish, and thousands of others, especially those weaker than.... The Christian Brothers are no longer the force they were but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish men innocent... Keep on seeking first the Kingdom of God and his name was never spoken again Aberdeen, Glasgow Midlothian... Who just loves the whole idea was for it next by Sisters of IHM are some women because! They kept me in bed and this was seen as a Catholic anymore, the! Originally used to treat sewage buried him behind the graveyard and his righteousness in front the... Two years old part of the Irish, and nuns are now taught with more compassion our crosses. You say the nuns and most of those show a wonderfull helpful nun... Nun in sixth grade chasing this boy around the class and into the why were irish nuns so cruel...

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