Many Nuns pretended not to see or hear what was going on around them, but instead were passive, taking refuge in their work and silent prayers. as elsewhere, they became . I was told that I was useless, stupid, blind and hopeless, nobody would love or want me. It gives a good idea of the standard of care. The Nuns believed they had the right to use violence on them arbitrarily, including, if necessary, killing them. Thanks to all for your replys, I think the hammer has found the nail on this perhaps. Sometimes the really obvious take on history turns out to be the right one. Gmail . 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. Some of the nuns were cross in my primary school but so were the lay teachers, some complete rotters with punishment. May 2020 They were overworked and underpaid, treated like second-class citizens by a male hierarchy--and today we know that much of that hierarchy was secretly gay, and that many were even pedophiles, so they had a lot of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of their own to conceal. 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. Yet the harsh conditions of the Tuam home meant the infant. 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. 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. 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. Its not something thats public knowledge, but many nuns grow to regret taking this vow. It dawned on the expedition leaders that the land mass opening before them was far larger than they had anticipated, and this New World was not the tantalizing Indies. January 2018, List of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, Mother and Baby Homes, Industrial Schools of Ireland. (9 Reasons Why), Why Are Contractors So Unreliable? (11 Reasons Why). I was up at 5am scrubbing floors, doing laundry. I believe in God, though". 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. Vera lived at the home with her two sisters from the age of six months until she was 17 years old. One of the devices operating on this principle was the rack, which is infamously associated with the Inquisition . 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. "I call on the Irish State and government to remove the gagging orders and give us survivors the right to speak out for the sake of our mental health.". For being late for prayer. But trying to be perfect always is enough to make anyone go a little crazy. The babies were usually. "I left the faith as a direct result and don't describe myself as a Catholic anymore. Why are Nuns so mean? The innocent novice Nuns, with their good intentions, had no idea of what awaited them in the hellholes known as the Magdalene Laundries with their captive and illegally-held female slaves and their children who, although they had committed no crime, toiled there. 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. I was slapped across the face hard for talking during a movie in 8th grade. Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear. So nuns did their best to keep you from committing a mortal sin and their way of doing that was to enforce a sort of discipline by various means of which some were mean like hitting your knuckels with a ruler. My grandmother was 3 years old when she was first brought to the mission. Born into Catholicism and devout as a child, I witnessed cruelty and abuse by Sisters of IHM. Not a life of such abuse, torture, pain and hell. Lets not forget that nuns take a vow of celibacy. She was sent news of baby Sonia for two years, before she was told she could have no more contact. These emotions can eventually turn into anger and resentment. 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. 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. Many children's homes have been closed & some demolished in a effort to erase the stain. In some cases the Nuns even used their long heavy-duty wooden rosary beads to beat the slave women or the children. The atmosphere was one of sheer terror. "Bedwetting was about the worst thing you could do. It was a matter of impressing and/or shocking fellow Nuns by specific acts of violence, and thereby proving ones authority and skill. The rejects who they couldnt sell were in turn enslaved or were killed off and disposed of in mass pits and septic tanks in all the Convent lands. Like many victims, Tom Hayes fled Ireland. 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. 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. But thats human nature. January 2020 Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. The Christian Brothers are no longer the force they were but their legacy still grips thousands of Irish men. June 2018 Physical violence was allowed and was encouraged by the frustrated Nuns in all the Institutions in order to get the upper hand - literally and brutally - by striking blows with hands, feet, sticks, chains, metal objects or whatever else came to hand. Terrified, I remember holding out my hand thinking an adult would take it. But . Run by the Bon Secours order of nuns, the Tuam home opened in 1925 and closed in 1961. People considered the. This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. I was lucky one. Catholic religious sisters, commonly (and inaccurately) called "nuns", are a declining part of American life. I have cried so much wondering what happened to my loving brother. 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. "You were thrashed about the feet, head and hands, you had your hair pulled and your head bounced off the walls. 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 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. Nursing Nuns of the Civil War. Good or bad just jot one or two down for me if you don't mind. The Nuns were the power and to them the inmates were slaves, criminals and whores. "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. 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. This definitely made it much worse. October 2019 Some of these women and girls from middle-class backgrounds and with no professional training, were transformed into some of the most vicious Nuns running various Religious Institutions in Ireland. At least 20,000 Irish nuns served outside Ireland between 1800 and 1960. November 2018 Once I was beaten black and blue, so badly I had to stay in the infirmary for five weeks, and when I came out I was given a bag of sweets and told to tell no one about what happened. July 2019 February 2020 She would choose . April 2019 They go more stir crazy being locked up 24/7 so would any normal human being. Some Nuns systematically accelerated and intensified their violent acts in the presence of another Nun, and considered it better still if she was an incoming novice. I don't think you answered the question "Why were some nuns cruel". My aunt said I never stammered before I went there. This was not the case in mid-19th Century . By January 2019 The recipients often turn . 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, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay voucher 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 March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. 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 . 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. Archaic teaching methods are now seen as barbaric. The Nuns enjoyed certain privileges both in Irish society as a whole and in their palatial Convents where the daily tasks of cooking, cleaning, washing-up, ironing etc, were all performed by their slaves. . The Magdalene Laundries were a profitable business for the Nuns and the Cult of the Irish Catholic Church. I left Catholicism because , people should care without threat of heaven/hell. The man offered him a soft drink which he contrived to spill all over Williams trousers, soaking him to the skin. I was asked to go but I refused, says William. 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! 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