New charges of sexual and physical abuse by nuns and priests

I learned from Pam's House Blend that the Catholic Church receieved 783 new claims of sex abuse last year. These claims, like past ones, are generally about priests and children or adolescents.

In New Orleans, however, there are now multiple claims that both nuns and priests, as well as other staff members, at a group home beat and sexually abused residents over a long period of time. The nuns allegedly practiced voyeurism, "inspecting" girls as they emerged from the showers; it is unknown what other forms the sexual abuse took. Naturally, there are people rushing to say that these nuns are practically saints and that, though they delivered "appropriate discipline" (this is the code term for whacking kids around and whipping them, for those somehow not in the know), they were loving and caring.

There is not a lot of reason to believe that a proper investigation will take place. Most people cannot imagine nuns participating in any form of sexual abuse. And then there is the matter of Orleans Parish Archbishop Alfred Hughes, who covered up Cardinal Law's abominations, but was named New Orleans' archbishop, anyway. He does not exactly have a good track record in this area.

A couple of years ago, I was at a conference and met a woman who was writing a book I have been waiting for a long time--a book about all of the abuse committed by priests, nuns, and brothers that we do not hear about. Sexual abuse by nuns would certainly be in that category, but the very large and largely ignored category is physical abuse by nuns, priests, and brothers. For years, these members of the church have whipped, slapped, and pushed around children and adolescents, probably with the blessings of many parents.

When I taught at Tulane, one of my students confided in me that when he had attended a prestigious Catholic academy in Mississippi, he and others had been whipped with instruments that sounded like they were borrowed from GoGo Yubari. This was a fine student whom I had no reason to doubt. I reported it to the media in Mississippi but never heard anything else about it.

Between the Catholic church's massive cover-up system and our culture's condemnation of those who come forward to accuse their childhood abusers, there are probably thousands of adults were were beaten and whipped by priests and brothers, or beaten, whipped, and sexually abused by nuns. In my own practice, I have heard multiple reports of extreme psychological abuse by nuns. Many victims do not think they are victims because they believe that whipping and beating are "appropriate" forms of "discipline." All of these factors come together to protect the sadistic abusers who work in churches, group homes, schools, and orphanages.