Catholic Church and the Priest--but what about the Nuns

[sodaseller]

All of my wife's family's stories about nuns are also positive, though some could be stern. I only had priests, and never saw eveidence of what we now know was all too common

 

[Chicago526]

Most boys were taught by priests back in the day, that is probably why you didn't hear anything about nuns from your father.

His school wasn't co-ed, it was all boys, but he WAS taught by nuns (this would have been in th 40's). I just don't remember hearing him saying he was afraid of any of them. I remember one story he told of some trouble he got into and the sister took him to the Monsignor's (sp?) office for a talking to! Fortunatly for him, the Monsignor was the "boys will be boys" type!

My mom's Catholic grade school was co-ed, but high school was girls only. This was in the 50's. I know it was, I saw her grade school class pictures and there were boys in her class.

 

[oldkicker]

I attended Catholic Elementary and High schools.

I graduated from elementary school (coed, through 8th grade, no middle school) in 1968. I remember a couple of very good nuns, particularly in my earlier years, but from grade 5 on, they were all very disturbed human beings who had no place teaching kids. They seemed to enjoy being physically, emotionally and psychologically abusive to just about everyone in the class. There were a couple of kids who escaped most of this, but I think they were spared just so the nuns would have someone to compare the rest of us to while they were berating us ("Why can't you be more like so-and-so?")

One of the nuns had a little cricket clicker that she would click just before smaking us. It gave us a second's notice to brace ourselves. We didn't dare raise a hand to defend ourselves as she took that as some kind of offensive threat and would raise up the level of her violence a notch or two.

We were hit, screamed at, ignored, denied passage to the bathroom and given tasks that none of us could ever complete to any level of satisfaction. Perhaps worst of all, we were constantly told that we were going to burn in hell for behaving the way we were behaving. To an impressionable and devout kid, this was devastating. And it wasn't like we were bad kids either - we were just kids.

High school was a bit better, but there were still some wackos there too. The school I went to was staffed by Christian Brothers. I remember one occasion that one of the Brothers came up behind me while I was standing in the aisle on a school bus and he literally knocked me out with a blow to the head from behind. I never saw him coming. He dropped out of the brotherhood a couple of years after I graduated and rented an apartment not far from my parents' house. I cussed him out every time I saw him. Still would today. Another brother would fling pieces of chalk at us in class if he thought we weren't paying attention. One of the brothers would stand watch between classes and drag people into empty classrooms from the hallways if he thought we weren't dressed appropriately. This was during the 60's, mind you. Bell bottoms were all the rage, even in dress pants and he had a really hard time dealing with that! He also didn't like hair parted in the middle. He and I had several go-rounds about that. I remember that he would get right in my face and scream at me, all the while poking his finger into my chest, hard enough to push me back and bruise me.

Through all of this, most of us never dared say anything to our parents. It had been beaten into our heads (literally!) they we were wrong and they were right. God was watching and he was represented by those SOBs.

I can't begin to tell you how much all of that effected me and how long it took to come to terms with it - at least to the point I am now. At the time we just dealt with it. Oddly enough, I still think I had a pretty good childhood. It's amazing what you can put up with and how you find a way through it all. Even hell-bound kids.

 

[snoopy]

Good Lord Bernie. No wonder there are so many conflicted Catholics in this world. That is terrible, the things you describe.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Sister Madonna was this incredible little nun where I went to high school. She taught us this:

"I have only just a minute, only sixty seconds in it, forced upon me, can't refuse it, didn't seek it, didn't choose it, but it's up to me to use it. I must suffer if I lose it, give account if I abuse it, it's only just a minute, but eternity is in it."

I still remember it twenty years later.

I don't think that on the whole nuns are any worse than lay teachers. I have some wonderful memories of them.

What many of you may or may not know is that many nuns don't even get their BASIC needs met...safe housing, the medications they need, and enough money to purchase food from month to month...and they rarely ask for help.

If you have a nun from your present or past, you might want to check and be sure she has all she needs. Our PTA group at our old school took up a collection and purchased gift cards to the local grocery store to take care of their food and medicine every year.

 

[chrissyk]

I was raised Catholic and I've only ever known one nun. Maybe they just aren't as common anymore Every church has a priest, but not every church has a nun. Maybe that explains it.

 

[SpecialK]

I went to Catholic grade school (Sisters of St. Joseph)and high school (Sister of Mercy), and I don't remember any cruel nuns. I also taught at a Catholic school where there were still nuns on staff.

The nuns I worked with were treated very badly by the pastor of the parish. He wouldn't move into the rectory until central air was installed, yet he threw out all of the window units rather than give them to the convent. From that day on, he was pretty much a slumlord. Leaky pipes, bad roof, ceiling falling in. Thankfully, some of the Mothers' Club members got wind of what was happening and stepped up to help the nuns. When the pastor then tried to take the money the Mothers' Club had collected, sparks flew. The moms won.... and the pastor is now being investigated for financial misconduct.

 

[Patch'sD]

I went to a Catholic School for 12 Years, In Grade School some of the nuns were sick and demented. Some were very nice, mostly the young ones. Some of the Lay Teachers were just as bad, we used to call them Nun's in Training.

Here are some of the incidents.

One nun was explaining that the Jewish people used to copy the catholics, She gave the example of how there Holidays were always the same time as Christmass and Easter. One of the kids questioned her by asking wasn't Jesus celebrating passover on the last supper. Well the Nun took exception to questioning her doctrine and started smacking the kid senseless.

There was one nun who was very short in stature. She was referred to as "Mighty Midget". If you were not paying attention, a good right to the head, boy or girl. As we got older she used to stand on books or a chair to hit you. A real nasty one. I can remember her smilling as she hit someone.

In Eighth grade When we were fourteen, we used to talk back to the Nuns. At one time, the nun had enough and took one of the kids and was going to smack him. He blocked the first shot. Well the nun than went on to smack his face left and right on each syllable she said. Don't (Smack) You (Smack) Ever (Smack) do (Smack) that (Smack) again (Smack). Another Seventh grade nun, Sister Barbara was built like an offensive tackle. She knocked one kid out with a good left hook. She was also pretty stupid, no way should she have been teaching

I can't remember be hit be any nuns, Just grabbed by the tie and slammed into a wall a few times, always being called Mister. I was struck by two lay teachers, One in Third grade. Miss Linda used to open hand slap you only after she turned her engangement ring inward which would leave a mark on your face for a few days.

One of the meanest was a lay teacher. She would find new ways to torture you. She used to keep a wooden paddle to whack you in the butt with. She actually broke on one kids butt. Another one of her tricks was to grab a lock of hair from the top of your head and make you spin around until the hair would rip out of your head. This one died of a heart attack right in her classroom many years later.

One time there was another mean nun that was teaching like third grade. She had a heart condition. Some eighth graders decided to get back at her, by staging a kid jumping from the second story in front of her classroom. I was in the next class, all of sudden you heard a shrieking yell, and when you went to the window all you saw was a kid laying face down in the parking lot with blood all over him. According to kids in the other class the nun looked out the window and grabbed her chest and sat down in the chair. Needless to say it only took a few minutes to find out is was all phoney and the kid had ketchup on him. The three kids that were in on it were beaten severly and then expelled, we like to put they were freed and sent to public school.

Anyhow I swore that I would never send my kids to Catholic School, I am assuming that most of these dear people are now dead and are meeting their fate.

 

[missypie]

My father, uncle and aunt all have "wonderful" stories about the nuns who taught them. Of course, I don't deny that my father or his siblings didn't deserve what they got. I'm sure they deserved each ruler to the knuckles they received, etc. b/c I know they weren't angels.

But, it is a good question raised re. abuse by nuns.

I personally don't believe any school child ever "deserves" a ruler to the knuckles.

 

[kidshop]

I went to Catholic elementary, high school and college! This was in the 70's and 80's. I just remember some old (like 105 year old) nuns in elementary that seemed a little scary and mean, but no one ever hit or humiliated anyone that I recall. I have good memories of a lot of the nuns. High school was awesome! These were incredible women, very kind and gentle. Whatever order they were in didn't require the habit, so they wore regular clothes and some were really young. This was definitely a good influence on my life.

 

[ElizaB39]

I am so upset, I would like to beat Miss *itches Linda and Lay teacher (hair spinner) senseless. This actually made me cry!