31 Comments

• mmarymc | May 22, 2012, 10:05 AM EDT

  Watch Magdelena Sisters.....all these "Christians" should be treated the same as any other.....if you are a criminal, you should be punished. Nuns in Ireland have been cruel to many innocent girls for years. I hope they throw her in jail and burn the key and find the rest. Or maybe they should "do onto others" on her..

• JJSherman | May 20, 2012, 02:03 PM EDT

  THIS IS SICK, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH NEEDS TO LET THESE PEOPLE GET A RELATIONSHIP. WHAT IS IT THAT THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHEN GOD CREATED ADAM AND SAW HIS PAIN HE THEN TOOK A RIB OUT OF ADAM AND CREATED EVE. THESE PEOPLE ARE LONELY AND THEREFORE TURN TO THE WEAKEST OF ALL CHILDREN. SHAME ON THE CHURCH WHY DON'T THE CHURCH ALLOW THESE PEOPLE TO GET INTO A RELATIONSHIP OF THEIR OWN PEIRS.

• PhlutiePhan | May 14, 2012, 10:13 AM EDT

  @culchiewoman: plese read up on your Sigmund Freud and the "human sexual response" of Masters & Johnson, women just do not have the testosterone needed for sexual aggression. This is not 87 counts of "sodomy". These are 87 children who have been abused. As Bill Clinton said, "it all depends on what the meaning of 'is' is". What is the definition of sexual abuse in this case? Again being mean and disspirited is not sexual abuse. Hitting children on the knuckles with rulers is not sexual abuse. It would appear that this is hysteria gone crazy. As a former public high school teacher, I would relate that a new female principal was brought in who was a bodybuilder. She took steroids to stay slim. These testosterone pills "amped up" her libido and made a number of the younger girls "very uneasy" in her presence. This nun was not doing a Sylvester Stallone impression. Extremely doubtful situation!

• MissSusie | May 13, 2012, 01:28 PM EDT

  Nonsense!

• hermitTalker | May 13, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT

  If anyone is unaware. May I repeat, first time on this Irish-American topic, sexual abuse is widespread among married, single male and female professionals. It has nothing to do with religion as such or celibacy because every social group does it. The Catholic Church is catching it as if it is a celibacy-male priest phenonmenon which the experts tell those who listen it is not. The sad story will all unfold as more kids grow up, get away from home and can find an opportunity to sue, then we will know all about who knew and who covered up. The disease if alcoholism was not even known until AA was founded and developed the spiituality of the 12 Step Programme which is now practiced by all addicts from sex to gambling to shopping. YThere is no excuse for amy immoral, illegal activity by anyonem but they are all better understaood now advances in medicine, psychology and psychiatry. Moral formation that does not deal with each one's inner dragons which if, ignored roar and start fires under and inside is putting a cloth over a flithy table.

• ciaradexy | May 12, 2012, 06:11 PM EDT

  AMWilson, I know a few people who havent had sex is a few years but they didnt go and rape children.

• connemaragirl | May 11, 2012, 01:55 AM EDT

  Holy cow ,this is a new one ,I had nuns all my life in grade school ,high school etc. sexual abuse would not come to mind, but meanness yes at least some of them though not all,I'll wait on this one before I say anything after all this article doesn't tell you much.

• Irishphotograph | Mar 11, 2012, 12:56 PM EDT

  Peterson the Roman Catholic below calls for prayer for the Roman church....Me an ex Roman Catholic now born again Christian descended of John Devoy (IRB) calls for prayer for the victims of this abuse. Soon Ireland rids itself of Roman influence and their man made religious doctrines the better for the country.

• peterson | Mar 10, 2012, 11:55 AM EST

  Pray for the Church !!

• MCCOLGAN1492 | Mar 10, 2012, 09:04 AM EST

  Whatever happened to "ordinary decent criminals"? sex crimes aren't even enjoyable to think about.... disgusting...

• umain30 | Mar 10, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

  It is so mournful that a nun has done this type crime.

• culchiewoman | Mar 09, 2012, 02:51 PM EST

  @PhlutiePhan: why wouldn't you believe women/nuns capable of sexual abuse? I recommend a thorough reading of the Stanford Prison Experiment. That may give you a clue. Put women who have been brainwashed into believing they are "brides of Christ" and holier than mainstream society in charge of vulnerable, marginalised women (Magdalene Laundries/mother-and-baby homes) and children (orphanages/industrial schools), and you have a recipe for abuse -- physical, mental and sexual. They begin to see their charges as sub-human and it becomes easy to treat them that way. Women are no different than men in that when they become corrupted by a totalitarian system of 'containment', they can easily become abusers.

• marsman | Mar 09, 2012, 03:30 AM EST

  Can recommend two books for the wider context: Uta Ranke Heinemann: Eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. Bestseller in the 90's, gives insight into development of sexual (and marriage moral) of Catholic Church. Not about atheism, etc. Great readers comments on amazon to the book. Knowing the CC sexual moral in general, how it came about, the reasoning and thinking, explains also child abuse. The other book: The concept of sexual pleasure in the Catholic moral tradition. By Shaji George Kochuthara. Generous insight via Google books possible. The book tells the history of that bit moral, nicely and competently.

• warlocks | Mar 09, 2012, 01:39 AM EST

  Hey Hold on lets not find this Nun Guilty till she has been given a fair trial in a court of Law . We don't have any real facts here. Those who have not sinned cast the First Stone !

• gordongoblin | Mar 08, 2012, 05:17 AM EST

  Every one of the abusers needs to be tried and every person who covered for them. And let the church pay the fees itself.

• AMWilson | Mar 08, 2012, 02:14 AM EST

  I'm sure that the vow of chastity was hard enough to keep before mass media came along to burn sexuality into our brains 24/7. Combine that cocktail with minimal oversight of those in charge of children, and this is what you have. Whether this nun is guilty or not is almost irrelevant since, as we know almost nothing about her anyway, she is in a sense the "hypothetical nun", and still a worthy topic of discussion. Given what we know of the culture of the Church in matters of child abuse, it's certainly plausible.

• merefalow | Mar 07, 2012, 07:58 PM EST

  it,s just unbelievable that this sort of thing is going on STILL.THE HYPOCRISY OF THESE SUPPOSEDLY HOLY DEVOUT PEOPLE.

• mairint | Mar 07, 2012, 05:46 PM EST

  Is this the best you can do? a Google file picture of a 'supposed to be ' nun - to give an extra kick at the Catholic church ? Come on Irish Central, you are tending towards hate mongering.

• seanomelb | Mar 07, 2012, 05:00 PM EST

  I will reserve my comments until after the trial ,the presumption of innocents is sacrosanct.

• rainbowbrew | Mar 07, 2012, 03:37 PM EST

  Ahh the good preists and RCC leaders have given up a scapegoat female nun. They probably think this is good and all will be forgotten.

• JQuigley | Mar 07, 2012, 02:13 PM EST

  Kilgara,as in the United States, and particularly California "todays" culture loves to be incendiary and jump to conclusions of guilt. Though a pathetic commontary of our society its' prevelancy is decaying the positive historical belief in and acceptance of law-and-order, or the integrity of The Rule of Law which has been a foundational reliability of democratic society going back to 1066 A.D. Technology is enhancing many a citizens psyche of speed decision and its concommitant association on everything we think, say, or do. It should be added that the criminal justice system in all aspects have an agenda that anymore runs contary to anyone accused could not possibly be innocent. And, that same system revels in being 'High Profile" to its' own self-serving ego maniaclism. And as the current thinking goes, and is practised, throw enough "up-on-the-wall" and something may stick. We do not and NEVER will live in a perfect world, but, it is not for nothing that the judges and their ilk wear black (adversely ominous) robes and sit elitely HIGH above the people. Only ONE in history has walked on water and it was/is not the criminal justice system.

• Collette2 | Mar 07, 2012, 01:55 PM EST

  This is sickening. As brides of Christ with access to as many priests they want and they have to use children. Someone wrote this sort of thing was waiting to be brought out into the light, maybe it's just the beginning of whats to come.

• kilgara | Mar 07, 2012, 12:53 PM EST

  Why did you run that picture{obviously not the accused}, that's yellow journalism at its' worst. Whatever happened to INNOCENT until proven guilty?

• Nicomax | Mar 07, 2012, 11:51 AM EST

  If the victims were in court then it seems they are somewhat identified, as should be the case for the alleged criminal. The Church will sink in it's obsession with matters sexual.

• irishcoffeekid | Mar 07, 2012, 11:45 AM EST

  If the case was transferred to Sligo from another county then we should know what county. People have the right to know where she was stationed/serving before - what if it was in our home town or county. i'd like to be sure she wasnt at my school back in the 70s/80s - there could be other victims who dont even know she's been found out!!

• luckodeirish | Mar 07, 2012, 11:42 AM EST

  Why can't they name her? I know of two friends who were sexually abused by a nun in my school.

• PhlutiePhan | Mar 07, 2012, 11:13 AM EST

  I believe that this case merits more scrutiny. I believe in the sexual abuse by priests. I am a bit more skeptical of charges against nuns. The sexual wiring of women is quite a bit different than that of men. Here in America, women teachers and administrators are using steroids to increase their libido. This does not appear to be the case here. As far as "Sister Mary Ruler" comments, I had that type of nun in grade school. A classmate is now a big attorney CEO of a major corporation. No blood, no foul.

• timmy45 | Mar 07, 2012, 10:55 AM EST

  No point in hiding behind The Veil of Secrecy any more , we , or some , or most of us living on the Island of Ireland are all to familiar with this 'type' of clerical abuse , scorned as we made our crippled way through schooling , laughed at , spat at , ridiculed , hated , isolated , given the slap of the Leather by the Many Nuns who our poor parents sent us to become educated in these schools of scandal where the WORD of A NUN OR PRIEST far outweighed the solemn word of the Cloth .

• CelticQueenUSA | Mar 07, 2012, 09:51 AM EST

  I have seen many abusive nuns get away with their forms of abuse be it sexual or just plain torture with hitting or hurting students. It is good that they can't get away with that brutality any longer.

• colkelley | Mar 07, 2012, 09:38 AM EST

  And why are not seeing male priests brought up in court on similar lists of charges? Will this nun receive the same light sentence as the priests?

• arialgirl | Mar 07, 2012, 09:36 AM EST

  Take a page out of the book of medieval English and put this disgusting PO$ in a cgae naked and let people throw garbage, rocks, etc out her fo the rest of her miserable life. After long suspecting it, it has been confirmed that a sibling was sexually assaulted by a priest. He is destroyed and turned to alcohol and is now destroying his daughter's life. Death is too easy for evil offal. Suffer as you made children suffer, you twisted sadistic c.