The whole idea was for those women to do penance for their sins. She stayed in Ireland and had a nervous breakdown over the stress of trying to get us back., Philomena says the abuse started straight away, with constant beatings, almost daily, for something and for nothing.. 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. Searching for. That was when her main tormentor at the Nazareth House in Middlesbrough, Sister Laurence, died. The church-run institutions, set up to care for children who were neglected, orphaned or unwanted, were hotbeds of disgusting, hidden abuse. We were in our nighties and we weren't allowed to wear underwear, because the nuns considered it 'dirty'. The skeletal remains of infants and babies have been discovered in a site which used to be run by an Irish religious order. The Nuns were the power and to them the inmates were slaves, criminals and whores. Kicking, you see, took the degradation of the victims to a new level. 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. Wicked City . No one would believe how bad it was. 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. For William, now 54, the trauma of the abuse haunts him in every waking moment. Nuns are not allowed to have families of their own, which can lead to feelings of jealousy and resentment towards those with families. "Twelve people . They would use canes, sticks, the leather belts around their waists. Others have already pointed out that Nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism. For other inquiries, Contact Us. To this day I cannot go into a loft or a small room and I sleep with the light on because of that. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. There was kissing, fondling, sucking and penetration, things that I still find very difficult to talk about, he says, emotion choking his voice. Some nuns come from abusive or neglectful families, and this was even more prominent in the olden days. 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). I remember being made to sit in a cold bath. October 2020 October 2021 I was slapped across the face hard for talking during a movie in 8th grade. Try to be understanding and compassionate. He found refuge in the British army, where . March 2021 The investigators established the chambers were originally used to treat sewage. She lived at Nazareth House homes in Newcastle and Carlisle until she was 13, in 1944. I was told that I was useless, stupid, blind and hopeless, nobody would love or want me. My grandmother was 3 years old when she was first brought to the mission. The terror so enthusiastically applied by the Religious Nuns who ran the Magdalene Laundries was very real for the Survivors of such Institutions. Vicious evil people.. Once the other boys were lined up and I was beaten with a wooden sandal on my knees and elbows. 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. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. Inside were the bodies of scores of unknown women: the undocumented, uncared-about inmates of one of Ireland's notorious Magdalene laundries. We rose at 5am, did the cleaning chores, then got dressed, got breakfast and then went to school. This vow means they will not have sex or engage in sexual activity, leading to frustration and feeling trapped. 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. The head of the inquiry said there were at. Instead of fetching a doctor they kept me in bed and surrounded me with hot water bottles. In the 1901 and 1911 Census in there were about 100 inmates in the Magdalen Loundry in Galway..about 8 or 9 nuns. Catholic religious sisters, commonly (and inaccurately) called "nuns", are a declining part of American life. June 2018 "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. 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. We were sent upstairs. 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. Ya the pope is the boss speaking for god. Was Thomas given away or sold?. But by and large, theyre much nicer than they used to be. You have to ask why are some women cruel because the reality is some women are cruel. No one did and I was just told to follow on. Vera lived at the home with her two sisters from the age of six months until she was 17 years old. Thank God they chose the nuns. Long gone are the days of teaching nuns to be cruel, and now theyre being taught with more compassion. Many of the initial applications were turned down and, in response, William set up the Residential Institution Survivor Network (RISN), which has now helped over 200 people with appeals. Unforgiving. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. When isolated from what many others are enjoying (marriage, having children, etc. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. "I left the faith as a direct result and don't describe myself as a Catholic anymore. There was real hate there. 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. Not a life of such abuse, torture, pain and hell. Anything can trigger flashbacks because there are so many bad memories, he says. It was considered very prestigious to have a daughter become a Nun as was having a son in the Priesthood. The only subject of conversation was who was for it next. While your doing that, tell any stories of nuns that you might have. A helper, a big 20-year-old girl, dragged me to the washroom. Claims of abuse have been made about homes run by the order in places including Newcastle upon Tyne, Plymouth, Swansea, Manchester and Sunderland. 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! 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. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Why? I have seen programs about nuns and most of those show a wonderfull helpful loving nun who just loves the whole world. "I approached a lawyer because I learned that it was being said that if there were problems in any Nazareth House homes it was only in Scotland. "Holidays were spent at other Nazareth House homes. I was up at 5am scrubbing floors, doing laundry. September 2019 And thats a good thing for everyone involved. lol Thanks for the input. ", News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Wicked City was initially canceled after just 3 episodes, but later, the remaining episodes were aired on Hulu. In her absence, Philomena says, the parish priests took the children into the industrial schools, with the girls entering the Good Shepherd in Waterford. It was a very spartan regime. I love them so much, there are so helpful, I always get sad when they get transferred to another church. 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." This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. Thank you again for your insight. The gagging order is such an appalling and cruel abuse to all of us survivors who went through the Redress Board. The Nuns religious habit played an important role in the experience of power because the habitwas 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. Boston College's O'Neill Library says there's even a word for fear of nuns, and it's scenisciphobia. "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. In her case, she claims, a company charged 15,000 for work on her home which included 6,000 for a stove which actually cost 475. By I went to a convent and the nuns were from Ireland - I landed one who also beat me and her face whilst hitting me with a ruler on the back of my legs was absolutely horrid. After being forced to leave the school at 16, Philomena fell pregnant and went into one of Irelands notorious mother and baby homes, where her baby girl was taken away and given up for adoption against her will. For decades, "bad" Irish girls were sent away to convent-run laundries, where they worked for no pay in awful conditions for years on end. A nun all of a sudden picked the kid up, carried him to the door, then slammed the door into his head. Was Thomas given away or sold? Its crucial for nuns to be aware of this and to try to break the cycle. January 2018, List of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, Mother and Baby Homes, Industrial Schools of Ireland. Nuns are supposed to be modest in their appearance, which can lead to them being quite critical of others who dont dress modestly. Flagrant and cruel. 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 . We were beaten with big sticks - the bigger the better. Narcissists can use words as bullets, zeroing in on anything they can to unsettle and upset you. It has enriched the Irish Catholic Church to the extent that, even to this day, it is the wealthiest organisation in Ireland. "Bedwetting was about the worst thing you could do. 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. Although nuns acting mean is mostly history, the stigma remains in many peoples minds. Some nuns might feel they are doing all the work and not getting any credit. if the nuns were to blame, / So it had to be caused by a wire . They were raised in abusive homes and grew up as abusive adults. 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. (9 Reasons Why). Led by Premier Maurice Duplessis, the period was characterized by unprecedented corruption and repression, much of which involved the Catholic Church. The Magdalene Laundries were a profitable business for the Nuns and the Cult of the Irish Catholic Church. Never has been and never will be. Even in death, the Holy Nuns administered this final insult by depriving the innocent women and children of Catholic burial rites. It was a known fact among the slave women and children that beating them was a way of compensating for the Nuns own incompetence and of imposing and demonstrating their authority. Sign up for a new account in our community. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. 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 rack was a simple contraption, consisting of a rectangular frame raised from . "They only did it to make loads of money and to put you to work, to shame you and make you feel like nothing.. The nuns would enter a convent in their teens and would be told nothing about sex or re Continue Reading 18 2 Peter Kisner See Part One, Two, Four, Five, Six and Seven. It makes perfect sense that some would take their emotions out on others. Celibacy is NOT normal for humans. The Widow's Pension did not come in til 1934. Though it was three miles away and there was a school bus, we were only given enough money to make the journey once a day, so depending on the weather we'd take it in the morning or afternoon. The early Irish monks and nuns, who tried for a time to be as strict with themselves as the hermits of the Egyptian desert, found that it was just about impossible to starve properly in Treland, because the country abounded in delicious food of all kinds-"leeks from the garden, poultry, game,/Salmon and trout and bees," as a salivating monastic FOR MORE than 100 years, the Poor Sisters of Nazareth cared for children in the order's dozens of homes across Britain. The Nuns had complete power over the women and children and overwhelming dominance over everything in their Institutions.. Nuns used to be cruel; that much is true. The sexual assault was to be the first of many suffered by William at the hands of his supposed care-givers. There were very few nuns in many cases in these Magdalen Laundries which were called Asylums up the foundation of the Free State. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Why Are Bartenders So Rude? "You couldn't talk to the nuns in a jokey or friendly way. FOR Vera Willshire, who is now 75, the year 1939 was one of the happiest of her life. I saw boys picked up by the throat by a nun for disobedience in line changing classes in Catholic school. Why are Nuns so mean? 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. They took great delight in saying my mother died at school assembly. I wish all devout Catholics would do the same. 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. Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex. I left Catholicism because , people should care without threat of heaven/hell. Sadly, those abusive women were sadists who should have been imprisoned themselves and also hospitalized. "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. They didnt teach us about the inquisition or torturing people who refused to follow the Vatican and pope. 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. You think your nuns were bad? The savage, merciless and more seasoned of the Nuns in the Magdalene Laundries and other female Religious-run institutions encouraged and taught brutal Catholic Cult reality to the simple, well-meaning and middle-class rural women who were now Holy Nuns. Unexplained-Mysteries.com 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. 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. This can lead to a cycle of cruelty thats hard to break. Its not easy to grow up in an abusive or neglectful home, which can lead to trauma and emotional damage. "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. 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. Cruelty thats hard to break the cycle brought to the nuns were the and. 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