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Why are Catholic Nuns so mean?


Rocketgirl33

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Iam writting a family book about our family from as far back as I can go. One of the questions I have is for the Catholics of the forums. Why are Nuns so mean? My grandmother, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles cousins ect ect, were mostly raised in the Cotholic Missions on different Indian Reservations. The one thing that I have found from talking to them and from past stories they have told me before they died was the Nuns of the Caotholic Missions were always mean and abusive to the children. My Grandmother has told me many stories of the evil nuns. One that stands out is the story of a boy who had become very ill. I don't think my grandma knew exactly what he was sick with but she told me that the Nuns had NO empathy for a sick child. The mission had boys dorm and girls dorm and behind the dorms outside was a small creek that ran behind the buildings and through the woods. The Nuns had been punishing this boy for not doing his chores and on that fateful night he was murdered by the Nuns. The Mother Teressa took him to the creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died. All the children saw this murder and the Nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and his name was never spoken again.

The children were beaten regularly and the nuns were never really nice to them. 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. My grandmother was 3 years old when she was first brought to the mission. In those days the people were encouraged to bring their children to the mission to be schooled by the church and they children all lived there. They were let go home on some weekends and hollidays. When my grandma first went there she only spoke her native language, she spoke no english at all. She was tied to a chair and beaten for weeks until she started to learn english. Any child caught speaking native was punished. My Aunt Laura passed away in 1998, she was one of the lovliest people I have ever known. This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. 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. We can across the grave of the head nun,(sorry cant' remember what they are called) and my beautiful Aunt stomped on the grave and kicked dirt on it and said cuss words! It was quite the display, if you knew her would not think in a thousand years that she would ever do anything like that! The stories I have heard just make me cry.

So now comes the question. What is it that makes these Nuns so down right nasty mean? This mission is still in use today and as far as I know they have not slacked off of the punishments. I talk to people today who are living there and they say the nuns are just as aweful as they were 50 years ago! Why? I have seen programs about nuns and most of those show a wonderfull helpful loving nun who just loves the whole world. Are they all mean? Are just some of them mean? Are thay taught "Spare the rod spoil the child" in nun school? What gives? The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost hate to put them in there. 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. I have not found many "nice" stories about nuns. So I guess if someone can tell me why they are so mean and abusive that would be nice.

While your doing that, tell any stories of nuns that you might have. Good or bad just jot one or two down for me if you don't mind. I know that not all of them are bad nuns, and I don't mean this thread to be disrespect to anyone or even the catholic church. I am just wondering why. I hear stories about the nuns from non family members too and not many people have "Found memories" of their days with the nuns.

Rocketgirl B)

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I don't know the answer, but i do know that my grandparents were in catholic school and they also told stories about nuns hurting the kids. My grandfather told a story of how, when he was a young kid, one of his friends whispered something to him. A nun all of a sudden picked the kid up, carried him to the door, then slammed the door into his head. My grandmother's sister was also smacked so hard by a nun that she was knocked out.

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I don't know the answer, but i do know that my grandparents were in catholic school and they also told stories about nuns hurting the kids. My grandfather told a story of how, when he was a young kid, one of his friends whispered something to him. A nun all of a sudden picked the kid up, carried him to the door, then slammed the door into his head. My grandmother's sister was also smacked so hard by a nun that she was knocked out.

Thats awefull! I wonder what makes them so mean? Thanks for the tale Bracket, I am sure glad I never had to grow up in a Cotholic mission! lol Thanks for the input.

Rocketgirl B)

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Why are Nuns so mean?

First off I'd change that to SOME nuns, not all.

Only my opinion of course, but I'd blame it on a lack of physical and emotional shenanigans with members of the opposite sex.

Celibacy is NOT normal for humans. Never has been and never will be. No matter what any "spiritual leader" might say.

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I think what happens is that religion is handed down from generation to generation in what ever form it maybe and catholics had no problem sparing the rod as that's how they grew up. Or maybe it's just being in a power of authority with god as your boss.

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I believe it was that they treated indigenous people like savages that werent even worthy of owning their own land ..ever since the Inter Caetera bull of 1493 (by Pope Alexander VI)

I am not Catholic but I am an Indigenous person whose ancestors were treated exactly the same

Inter Caetera (papal bull)

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Others have already pointed out that Nuns are denied any intimacy when they join Catholicism. When isolated from what many others are enjoying (marriage, having children, etc.), it wouldn't be hard to see why some Nuns are high-strung.

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I think what happens is that religion is handed down from generation to generation in what ever form it maybe and catholics had no problem sparing the rod as that's how they grew up. Or maybe it's just being in a power of authority with god as your boss.

'sparing the rod' has nothing to do with punishment ..the rod mentioned in the bible was from the early times of agriculture & farming ..the oxes that pull the plough in order to stay on a straight line had the person with a long stick (called a rod) ..they wouldnt hit the oxes with them but push their heads forward to maintain a line

and as Catholics the Pope is their Boss

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I am not Catholic

This as come as a complete surprise to me ,I thought you were and just winding us all up

fullywired

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'sparing the rod' has nothing to do with punishment ..the rod mentioned in the bible was from the early times of agriculture & farming ..the oxes that pull the plough in order to stay on a straight line had the person with a long stick (called a rod) ..they wouldnt hit the oxes with them but push their heads forward to maintain a line

and as Catholics the Pope is their Boss

You took what I said to literal. Ya the pope is the boss speaking for god :blink:

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Iam writting a family book about our family from as far back as I can go. One of the questions I have is for the Catholics of the forums. Why are Nuns so mean? My grandmother, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles cousins ect ect, were mostly raised in the Cotholic Missions on different Indian Reservations. The one thing that I have found from talking to them and from past stories they have told me before they died was the Nuns of the Caotholic Missions were always mean and abusive to the children. My Grandmother has told me many stories of the evil nuns. One that stands out is the story of a boy who had become very ill. I don't think my grandma knew exactly what he was sick with but she told me that the Nuns had NO empathy for a sick child. The mission had boys dorm and girls dorm and behind the dorms outside was a small creek that ran behind the buildings and through the woods. The Nuns had been punishing this boy for not doing his chores and on that fateful night he was murdered by the Nuns. The Mother Teressa took him to the creek behind the dorms and drug him through the cold water until he died. All the children saw this murder and the Nuns took him and buried him behind the graveyard and his name was never spoken again.

The children were beaten regularly and the nuns were never really nice to them. 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. My grandmother was 3 years old when she was first brought to the mission. In those days the people were encouraged to bring their children to the mission to be schooled by the church and they children all lived there. They were let go home on some weekends and hollidays. When my grandma first went there she only spoke her native language, she spoke no english at all. She was tied to a chair and beaten for weeks until she started to learn english. Any child caught speaking native was punished. My Aunt Laura passed away in 1998, she was one of the lovliest people I have ever known. This woman wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouth full. 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. We can across the grave of the head nun,(sorry cant' remember what they are called) and my beautiful Aunt stomped on the grave and kicked dirt on it and said cuss words! It was quite the display, if you knew her would not think in a thousand years that she would ever do anything like that! The stories I have heard just make me cry.

So now comes the question. What is it that makes these Nuns so down right nasty mean? This mission is still in use today and as far as I know they have not slacked off of the punishments. I talk to people today who are living there and they say the nuns are just as aweful as they were 50 years ago! Why? I have seen programs about nuns and most of those show a wonderfull helpful loving nun who just loves the whole world. Are they all mean? Are just some of them mean? Are thay taught "Spare the rod spoil the child" in nun school? What gives? The family book I am writting has so many of these stories in it I almost hate to put them in there. 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. I have not found many "nice" stories about nuns. So I guess if someone can tell me why they are so mean and abusive that would be nice.

While your doing that, tell any stories of nuns that you might have. Good or bad just jot one or two down for me if you don't mind. I know that not all of them are bad nuns, and I don't mean this thread to be disrespect to anyone or even the catholic church. I am just wondering why. I hear stories about the nuns from non family members too and not many people have "Found memories" of their days with the nuns.

Rocketgirl B)

In my school the nuns, well a few of them were mean. 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. Today it is different, but I believe the stories I have been told.

Peace

mark

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My mother went to Catholic school as a child back in the 1950's. She was wacked in the hand a lot with a ruler.

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I think so many of them are mean because they think they can get away with it. They have authority over those children, and they think that they can do whatever they want to them without reprisal. 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.

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Thanks to all for your replys, I think the hammer has found the nail on this perhaps. It seems logical that a person suffering from not being a part of normal life, ie:love, sex, child birth ect ect.. would harbor lots of ill will twords those who cannot help themselves. 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. It is anger, suffering and self isolation.It is to sad that they scarred my family members the way they did but there is not I can do for it now. I just want to try to understand it. It makes perfect sense that some would take their emotions out on others. Thank you again for your insight.

Rocketgirl B)

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You think your nuns were bad? our nuns would cut a finger off if you were late for class, some kids only had thumbs, we had to learn a new word every day if you couldn't pronounce it the nun would set about you with a baseball bat, on the day we had to learn Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ten kids got killed, we slept outside on the grass, in the winters we covered ourselves with cowpats (dung) to keep warm, we had turnips for breakfast lunch and dinner, but on sundays we had a real treat for dinner, the turnip was cooked, my aunt on visiting stalag sacred cross found the grave of the mother superior and dug her up, she then used her skull as a toilet, but she was a dirty cursing perverted old b**** herself.

i'm indigenous.

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You think your nuns were bad? our nuns would cut a finger off if you were late for class, some kids only had thumbs, we had to learn a new word every day if you couldn't pronounce it the nun would set about you with a baseball bat, on the day we had to learn Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ten kids got killed, we slept outside on the grass, in the winters we covered ourselves with cowpats (dung) to keep warm, we had turnips for breakfast lunch and dinner, but on sundays we had a real treat for dinner, the turnip was cooked, my aunt on visiting stalag sacred cross found the grave of the mother superior and dug her up, she then used her skull as a toilet, but she was a dirty cursing perverted old b**** herself.

i'm indigenous.

You are so bad it makes do this :w00t:

Damn nuns :devil: I don't think I have ever met a nun but damn them anyway errrrr

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Well, I don't think that humans are meant to live without any intimacy; physical or emotional. I know that they are supposed to be married to god and such...but 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 you...well you would be cranky too.

The whole concept is flawed from the get-go.

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You are so bad it makes do this :w00t:

Damn nuns :devil: I don't think I have ever met a nun but damn them anyway errrrr

I hope your not suggesting any of my post isn't true? i may have exaggerated a little. :D

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I hope your not suggesting any of my post isn't true? i may have exaggerated a little. :D

Your post was so full of hate & sarcasm Im surprised you havent been banned ...what you wrote was absolutely inexcusable

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Your post was so full of hate & sarcasm Im surprised you havent been banned ...what you wrote was absolutely inexcusable

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?

You believe the bibles the word of god? well practise what you preach, "He who is without sin......." you should know the rest, but then again i'm not to sure you do?

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I think that's the way many of them were trained, in a very authoritarian church. 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.

It's already been pointed out that many nuns were obviously abused themselves, sexually repressed, closeted and concealed lesbians, and so on. 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. I think the average age for priests and nuns in the US today is like 70.

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You are so bad it makes do this :w00t:

Damn nuns :devil: I don't think I have ever met a nun but damn them anyway errrrr

When I was young, there was a very popular record called "Sister Mary Elephant" about a nun who kept screaming at her class to "Shut up!".

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Your post was so full of hate & sarcasm Im surprised you havent been banned ...what you wrote was absolutely inexcusable

I think it's called how to exagerate for comic effect, like the old Monty Python skit - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13JK5kChbRw

Even a dumb American like me knows this.

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