A Dublin woman has succeeded in her attempts to get the media to focus on Magdalene Laundries by trending on Twitter days ahead of the publication of a government report into the scandal.
Samantha Long’s mother was taken into the Laundries when she was just two years of age.The laundries were operated by religious orders and used unmarried mothers and their offspring as cheap labor.
Her daughter’s tweets revealed that she left the Catholic church run Laundries 49 years later, in a coffin after dying of ‘slave related injuries.’
Read More: UN Torture Committee asks for inquiry into Magdalene Laundries
Disbelief followed Samantha’s first emotive tweet which simply read: “My mother was Magdalene No. 322. Real name Margaret.”
TheJournal.ie reports that the first tweet from Samantha was met with amazement that Magdalenes were given numbers.
Speaking to the site, Samantha confirmed that numbers were issued: “Yes, I was looking over her records today and thought I’d share that. Awful.”
The report says Samantha’s late mother Margaret Bullen was taken into the Magdalene Laundries system when she was just two years old.
Samantha decided to share her family’s story before the government publishes a detailed report on the Laundries on Tuesday.
She has also mounted a successful campaign to get the hashtag #justiceformagdalenesNOW trending on Twitter to raise awareness.
The story adds that the Dublin woman’s provocative, powerful and heartbreaking tweets have achieved that aim.
TheJournal.ie has reproduced a timeline of the tweets.
They read:
“My mother was Magdalene No. 322. Real name Margaret.
Margaret was committed to industrial school in 1954. She was 2 yrs 4 mths old. She left 49 years later in a coffin.
By the age of 5, Margaret was preparing breakfast for 70 children including herself from 4am. Child labour
Margaret was noted in her records as ‘nervous, timid, fretful, a bed-wetter’. No wonder, she was never toilet trained
Margaret didn’t know where she was from or when her birthday was. We told her when she was 42
At age 13, Margaret had her IQ measured. She was ‘certified’ as fit for work, unfit for education. Labour camps.
Margaret never lived in the outside world, although she lived just off O’Connell Street in our capital city.
Margaret didn’t know how to handle money. She had none, and no possessions.
Margaret never went on a date, Never had a boyfriend. Never fell in love. But she was impregnated in care.
Margaret’s twin daughters were taken from her 7 weeks after she gave birth. When she saw us again we were 23.
When we reunited at the Gresham, Margaret was 42. Not that you’d think it At The Gresham in 1995, Margaret was excited. Not just to meet us, but it was the first time she ever tasted coffee.”
When I became a mother in 2004, it was the first time I allowed myself to grieve for Margaret’s life unlived, denials.
Margaret and my family enjoyed each other for a few years, hard to recreate deep love after so long
Margaret died in July 2003, one day before her 51st birthday. She died of her slave related injuries.
Six months after her death, her first grandchild was born. She would have loved her four grandchildren.
I hope for justice for Margaret and her friends on Tuesday. Thank you all so much for the support. I think she knows.
I am astounded at the reaction to my tweets about Margaret. Impossible to reply to all. Thank you, I am humbled.
Goodnight all, finally. Míle buíochas #justiceformagdalenesNOW.
Read more news from Ireland
The government report, compiled by former senator Martin McAleese, will be published in full on Tuesday afternoon by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter following a Cabinet meeting.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.jaminonout | Mar 28, 2013, 02:18 PM EDT
@jacersagain your comments are clearly showing ignorance lack of human compassion and just plain stupidity!!! Maybe you should let the grown ups talk while you finish working on your grade school education....
seanomelb | Feb 14, 2013, 05:46 PM EST
I never mentioned the magdalene sisters in that post you presume to much, I said "Holy Nuns" It's a long and personal story Jacer.
seanomelb | Feb 14, 2013, 05:46 PM EST
I never mentioned the magdalene sisters in that post you presume to much, I said "Holy Nuns"
jacersagain | Feb 13, 2013, 09:44 PM EST
So why, Seano... did you post allegations that your sister died of Magdalene Laundry causes? I worked in a commercial laundry once, on clothes sent in for cleaning by people so wealthy enough back then not to have to do the cleaning of their own soiled clothes - and have suffered no ill-effects (so far, Thank God!).
seanomelb | Feb 13, 2013, 05:59 PM EST
Jacer My sister died of natural causes and your contemptible article below is typical of your lack of empathy. My sister was not a "Magdelene girl" . Her husband and children are not asking for any compensation whatsoever. Best you quit this site and stopping making an arse of yourself. Your lack of humanity borders on sociopathy.
seanomelb | Feb 13, 2013, 05:53 PM EST
Bed linen could have been cleaned at a number of laundry's in Ireland and they would have employed people to do so. Your acceptance of slave labour is no different to the German camps wher slave labour was used to produce cheap goods in Germany. I maintain my humanism jacer,whats you excuse for condoning the excesses of failed Catholic institutions who turned their back on the words of Christ 'Suffer all you children unto me" I do not think Jesus meant his words to mean children have to suffer do you?. BTW touche yourself
seanomelb | Feb 13, 2013, 05:52 PM EST
Bed linen could have been cleaned at a number of laundry's in Ireland and they would have employed people to do so. Your acceptance of slave labour is no different to the German camps wher slave labour was used to produce cheap goods in Germany. I maintain my humanism jacer,whats you excuse for condoning the excesses of failed Catholic institutions who turned their back on the words of Christ 'Suffer all you children unto me" I do not think Jesus meant his words to mean children have to suffer do you?. BTW touche yourself
jacersagain | Feb 12, 2013, 11:48 PM EST
(…more) So... Ok, Seano… you claim they were “Errant” nuns of Christian, Catholic-dedicated Ireland of the 1920's to 1990's Christian Catholicism during times when poverty ran a very big number of people of that time to petty-criminal activity, just as in the USA and Australia and elsewhere during those years?? Let's be real… how much non-existent “compos” are you, like many of the charitable nun-fed, Irish society “dunno where to put them next” thinking society of those days and Nun-protected Magdalene women, are really getting on the band-wagon for???? Most were put through child-labour for Hospital wards’ beds without payment or entitlements to Irish Old-Age entitlements (which I agree should be compensated to them, at rates prevailing during their working lives, less the costs of their keeping) but please know that their efforts clean-sheeted many a poor person’s hospital bed in hospitals run and staffed for free by non-compensation-demanding Orders of Nuns. Please, Seano, my Sword is waveed up to you now and please, like the atheistic fair gentleman you claim to be, please fairly "Touché".
jacersagain | Feb 12, 2013, 11:42 PM EST
Seano - On the contrary, (pardon me Dublinese euro-speak pls; that’s English for the French ‘au contraire’; I dunno know the iggerant Ozzie equivalent phrase but I’m sure you do) … please allow me to re-annunciate that the Nuns of the Magdalene Convents exercised extra-ordinary care and endeavours with uncalled-for love and mercy for the girls of the Magdalene Laundries who were rejected by their families and by the Irish State for their whatever young years’ juvenile criminal wrongs were (otherwise no Magdalene nunnery wouldn’t have been asked by an Irish, English, Ozzie or American parent or the Irish state and comparable states to do so during those times). I, for one, note for sure, will stand up and will reject your “whoo-hoo, monies on the tables, lads and gals!” newly-declared claim (after all these years of yours on ICentral) to be a family-brother of a Magdalene young woman now probably dead, if she existed at all. Next you’ll be declaring for exoneration and monetary compensation from the UK’s Govt for the killing of so-called Irish Republicans and innocent citizens of Ireland during the Troubles that you might have run away from Ireland to Australia for, or claiming to be a brother of a man or woman shopkeeper or shopper, left without a right arm or leg, just because s/he was a loyalist and your friends’ bomb didn’t work well enough on some days. (More...)
seanomelb | Feb 12, 2013, 08:43 PM EST
We will take you and treat you as slaves said the errant nuns. Jacers unbelieveable blindness in this affair reflects his lack of humanity. I have a sister (Deceased) who suffered at the hands of the "Holy nuns" How dare you preach your ignorant catholicism to me,hang your head in shame hypocrite.
seanomelb | Feb 12, 2013, 08:43 PM EST
We will take you and treat you as slaves said the errant nuns. Jacers unbelieveable blindness in this affair reflects his lack of humanity. I have a sister (Deceased) who suffered at the hands of the "Holy nuns" How dare you preach your ignorant catholicism to me,hang your head in shame hypocrite.
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 09:58 PM EST
(…more) On the contrary, the ones whose laundering was carried out by the girls owe them a huge fortune. It’s time for Irish Hospitals, and their patients of the time and most importantly of all, for their drug producing, overly-profiteering drug suppliers to please pay out and make restitution with old-age pensions and payment for laundry hours that their unpaid, instamped lives were lived in. The Magdalene women should at least be recognised for the clean sheets and blankets that they washed, dried and ironed were for sick people in all of the hospitals of Ireland, which at that time, were run and administered by, well,… yes, you guessed it… the nuns of Ireland’s Christendom. As far as I know, not one single nun working behind closed doors in a Magdalene workhouse or an open hospital anywhere in Ireland has ever asked for monetary compensation from any tax-payer or any hospital patient or any drug producer for the work they did back then and still do. “Bring Back the Nuns”” was a call of a friend of mine. I would have to totally, totally agree with that… Next time, anyone who looks upon a nun walking down the street, you’d better look upon her with new eyes. She may, like Mary Magdalene was for the original Apostles, be your magnetic route to the Saviour of all of us.
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 09:50 PM EST
(…more) The Christian nuns who opened their own arms and their own silent prayer houses to those rejected by the rest of society in those days basically said “We’ll take you into our (prayer) house, we will feed you all and keep all of you who were abandoned by all outside of our prayer houses but, errrrm… in return you must work for your food and clothes, just like… errrrm, like we do”. I don’t see any problems with that thinking… After all, I do it daily… working to feed my own kids with what’s left after the Irish Govt directly, without my permission, takes over 40% of what I’m contracted by my Employer to earn for my endeavours, not to mention the 23% that it take out of what’s left for feeding my children... so if the nuns’ attitude is not true Christianity, like the Magdalene nuns were doing in their day for people rejected by the society living in those days, I don’t doubt that anyone can see the sense, back then, of it all being wrong. We Irish tax-payers don’t owe a single Magdalene woman a single cent of a euro, unless we were a patient in a hospital that provided clean sheets under and above bodies like those of my mother’s or my fathers’. (more…)
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 09:47 PM EST
And there's more...! One other thing bothers me barmy to write a bit more… Seano smartly posts that I have no Christianity in me regarding the young and old women of the Magdalene Laundries. May I less-smartly respond in kind…? The buildings where the Magdalene nuns of Ireland offered refuge to young teenage women who were discarded by their parents, or as vagrants or, as young criminals by the Irish state from 1922 onwards, were follows-on from the old workhouses that the British introduced into Ireland from their own country during the 19th century. The British-introduced workhouses were the last places of refuge for Ireland’s very poorest, the ones who could not feed themselves or their families. The morality of the times was “If you want to be fed and clothed, then you must work in this house”… (Present-day African, Indian, Brazilian and Nth Korean hunger times, anyone??). Charles Dickens immortalised all the British workhouses in his novel ‘Oliver Twist’ and by others in the movie ‘Oliver’, of men, women and children of both sexes like the kind but money-making Fagan, the kind temptress and the lone brave kid asking for more #Foooood… Glorious Foooood# in the British version of the story of British workhouses. It was persisted with in Ireland’s Christian Magdalene laundry workhouses because if you were bad enough in those times, there was only one other place to go or, at, worst, be sent to for food and clothing (More…) .
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 09:37 PM EST
One other thing bothers me barmy to write a bit more… Seano accuses med of having no Christianity in me regarding the young and old women of the Magdalene Laundries. May I less-smartly respond in kind…? The buildings where the Magdalene nuns of Ireland offered refuge to young teenage women who were discarded by their parents, or as vagrants or, as young criminals by the Irish state from 1922 onwards, were follows-on from the old workhouses that the British introduced into Ireland from their own country during the 19th century. The British-introduced workhouses were the last places of refuge for Ireland’s very poorest, the ones who could not feed themselves or their families. The morality of the times was “If you want to be fed and clothed, then you must work in this house”… (Present-day African, Indian, Brazilian and Nth Korean hunger times, anyone??). Charles Dickens immortalised all the British workhouses in his novel ‘Oliver Twist’ and by others in the movie ‘Oliver’, of men, women and children of both sexes like the kind but money-making Fagan, the kind temptress and the lone brave kid asking for more #Foooood… Glorious Foooood# in the British version of the story of British workhouses. It was persisted with in Ireland’s Christian Magdalene laundry workhouses because if you were bad enough in those times, there was only one other place to go or, at, worst, be sent to for food and clothing (More…) .
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 09:11 PM EST
On the subject of King Richard: there has been an interesting series of TV programmes shown on British TV recently, following, in depth, from discovery of the skeleton to DNA tests, the discovery of his bones under that car park in Leicester (pron in the old English lazy way: Lester). “You learn something new every day no matter how old you are”, as an old friend of mine said and I learned (or, in Gearoid4’s terminology, “erudited”) from that series that there has been a handed-down society of King Richard extant in Britain since his last day and moment of killing on earth. The members of the society were hugely excited to know their society and legacy was founded on true grounds, despite being ridiculed through out all that time. Much like Christ’s legacy and His society of Christians were and exist today, which is futilely being attacked from all sides even these everydays as it was back in Saints Peter’s, Paul’s and Thomas’ days.... Unlike child-murdering King Richard’s skeletal remains, no one will find the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ or those of His and our Virgin Mother, both of which were assumed to Heaven by the power of an Almighty God.
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 08:27 PM EST
Seano, that comment of yours Feb 6th, 05.41pm was uncalled for. If you re-read my post you’ll see that I put the word Easter between commas as in ‘Easter’, a sure acknowledgement of mine that ‘Easter’ didn’t exist back then. It does now, everywhere in the world, because of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead and evidenced by His Presence in every Tabernacle in every continent of our world and in the lives of every Christian of whatever hue. There is no bulls%it in self-evident facts which you, as a self-declared atheist, continue to deny… but is free to re-discover in a Tabernacle close to you.
seanomelb | Feb 10, 2013, 06:11 PM EST
Jacer I carry an Irish passport and proud of it. What self evident facts do you refer to jacer. Your religious beliefs are not factual or based on any factual information. You are certianly right that I am no longer a Catholic and I am an atheist but my bloodline does make me Irish and proud of it.
seanomelb | Feb 10, 2013, 06:11 PM EST
Jacer I carry an Irish passport and proud of it. What self evident facts do you refer to jacer. Your religious beliefs are not factual or based on any factual information. You are certianly right that I am no longer a Catholic and I am an atheist but my bloodline does make me Irish and proud of it.
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 05:36 PM EST
On the subject of King Richard: there has been a great series of science-based TV programmes shown on British TV’s Channel Four, following, in depth from discovery to DNA tests, the discovery of his bones under that car park in Leicester. You learn something new everyday and I learned (or, in Gearoid4’s terminology, “erudited” from that series that there has been a handed-down society of King Richard extant in Britain since his days on earth. They were hugely excited to know their legacy was founded on true grounds. Much like Christ’s legacy.
jacersagain | Feb 10, 2013, 05:23 PM EST
Seano, that comment of yours on Feb 6th, 05.41pm was uncalled for. If you re-read my post you’ll see that I put the word Easter between commas as in ‘Easter’, a sure acknowledgement of mine that Easter didn’t exist back then. It does now, everywhere in the world, because of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead and evidenced by His Presence in every Tabernacle in every continent of our world and in the lives of every Christian of whatever hue. There is no bulls%it in self-evident facts which you, as a self-declared baptised Irish Catholic, no longer Irish or Catholic but now an Australian atheist, continue to deny as being facts. Like I always encourage you and others like you to do, visit your nearest Tabernacle and take your arguments away from me and to the Most High.
seanomelb | Feb 09, 2013, 07:23 PM EST
Richard was no apostle,maybe I'll visit India to pray at the apostle thomas's tomb on second thoughts I will pray at the graveside of the magdalene girls who were raped,diminished or other wise suicided because the couldn,t get over the good times they had in the laundrys'. one becomes cynical when reading the bull from Jacer and his religious zealots.
seanomelb | Feb 09, 2013, 07:23 PM EST
Richard was no apostle,maybe I'll visit India to pray at the apostle thomas's tomb on second thoughts I will pray at the graveside of the magdalene girls who were raped,diminished or other wise suicided because the couldn,t get over the good times they had in the laundrys'. one becomes cynical when reading the bull from Jacer and his religious zealots.
seanomelb | Feb 09, 2013, 07:23 PM EST
Richard was no apostle,maybe I'll visit India to pray at the apostle thomas's tomb on second thoughts I will pray at the graveside of the magdalene girls who were raped,diminished or other wise suicided because the couldn,t get over the good times they had in the laundrys'. one becomes cynical when reading the bull from Jacer and his religious zealots.
mreinhar2001 | Feb 09, 2013, 12:32 PM EST
jacersagain: Thank you for the fascinating history! bunkerisland: You are correct. The topic strayed and beliefs are not relevant to the original issue, but if we may strayed for a moment, I wonder how those who choose to claim that apostles resting places do not exist in light of secular evidence feel about King Richard III (supposedly) resting under a car park? That said, I will follow bunkerisland's direction.
seanomelb | Feb 06, 2013, 05:41 PM EST
Jacer do you ever get tired of your own bulls@it. Easter did not exist when jesus allegedly rose from the dead. Mitigating the plight of the women incarcerated by the nuns is unforgiveable. Your Christian hypocrisy is disdainful.
falconflash | Feb 05, 2013, 08:54 PM EST
Even Khazars who hate Jesus will admit He was real.
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 08:22 PM EST
Seano, the Report on the Magdalenes is now in the public domain. The summaries of it make for some horrible reading but the old videos of the Laundry Girls and the nuns shown on Irish TV News show happy smiling people - nuns and Magdalene women and girls. While I don't doubt that a few bad things happened, I really do have reservations about a lot of aspects that Mr. McAleese failed to mention. No wonder the Irish Govt is reluctant to issue a total apology. They were harsh times back then for everybody in Ireland Seano... and well you know it. I suspect you scarpered away to Australia from your country and its faith because of those times.
seanomelb | Feb 05, 2013, 08:08 PM EST
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jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 08:05 PM EST
(Ok, the last bit) The local Indian Catholic priests visiting Rome one day in recent years asked the Vatican if they could have Thomas’ remains back, “pls”. Pope John Paul II listened to their pleas. He is said to have agreed to give them back the finger that the doubting Thomas stuck in Jesus’ side. So when and if you visit Thomas’ remains in Ortona, know that the casket’s remains are missing one finger bone. And you can visit St. Thomas’ Church in India (I think in Chennai but check that out) and Thomas’original tomb underneath it, with its single finger bone. Now, RobinForester, stick your finger wherever you like and pls provide your proof that Jesus didn’t exist.
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 08:00 PM EST
Finally may I admit to Robin that I’ve not yet visited any location where lie the remains of Lazarus, he who was raised from the dead by Jesus. I want to, some day or days. Apparently, his skeletal bones are scattered around in bits and pieces in far-flung places… his head is in Lyons Cathedral in France, some of his rib bones are in Spain, some more bones are in the Church of St. Lazarus in Havana, Cuba and I haven't a clue as to where his toes are. I’d have a lot of travelling to do to visit all of his spread remains, eh? This reminds me of a story about Apostle Thomas… he was the one who doubted that Jesus was resurrected to life after his death and said something like “Unless I stick my finger in his wounds, I won’t believe it.” Yeah, well, according to all the historical stories, he did that (what an “Ouch” moment that musta been). Thomas, a construction worker, went on to spread the news of Jesus resurrection through Yemen and lndia. He died horribly in India, killed by spearing and arrows after having annoyed a few local people’s customs. His remains were transported by Italian merchants to Ortona in Italy (for that, read ‘robbed from India’). (A bit more…)
seanomelb | Feb 05, 2013, 07:58 PM EST
Conditions in IReland "were like famine times" McGrath is certainly not Irish born.As a Dubliner brought up in Dublin after the war. I would prefer my poor working class upbringing in a family setting rather than been shifted off to a Catholic slave labour camp. You are an insensitive excuse for a human being Mr McGrath.
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:57 PM EST
(…more) The story has it that when Mary’s skeleton was found in a stone casket under the floor of Church of St. Maxime, when they lifted the skull out, the piece of skin fell off onto the stone floor. This piece of skin, today called the ‘noli me tangere’ skin, which never rotted throughout the centuries since Mary died, though the rest of Mary’s skin did, is said to be that bit of Mary’s forehead that Jesus touched that ‘Easter’ morning and so this was taken as the proof that the skeleton found was that of Mary Magdalene. I would urge all former inhabitants of Magdalene Laundries to visit the grotto in Ste Baume (near Marseilles, Aer Lingus will get you there) and the town and Church of St. Maxime and find true, unimaginable, solace there. And have a bit of craic there as you do; it’s a very beautiful part of France.
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:53 PM EST
(…more) Then, from the cave, pilgrims make their way down from the mountain to the nearby town of St. Maxime where the Magdalene’s skull is on display in the crypt of the Church of St. Maxime (and yes, I’ve visited both cave and church but cheated again, driving instead of walking, even illegally parking near the church and getting away with it ). In the Bible (per John), it is recounted that when Mary Magdalene saw the Risen Jesus on that ‘Easter’ morning, she reached out to touch Him. He rebuked her, saying “Do not touch me” (in Latin: ‘noli me tangere’) but in rebuking her, He actually reached out and touched her forehead in that moment. Underneath the skull on display, there is a glass vial containing a piece of skin. (more...)
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:48 PM EST
(…more) Perhaps the most famous of all is James the Great, so-called to differentiate him from James the Less, in Santiago de Compestela in the north of Spain, a place of pilgrimage for millions each year who actually undertake a walking pilgrimage of some hundred or more miles along different routes, or ‘Ways’ as they’re officially called, beginning in various countries throughout Europe, all ending at the Church of St. James (I cheated... I flew in and flew out of Santiago). Two of the ancient ‘Ways’ begin in Russia (taking in Poland and Germany) and in Italy, which conjoin to pass through the Sainte Baume mountain in Le Plan D’Aups, France, where many pilgrims visit the cave where Mary Magdalene lived out her last 30 years of life as a hermit. It’s quite a hike up to the grotto. There are two routes up to the cave. I suggest that most use the easy route (called the Allee des Rois et Reines, the route built for the Kings and Queens from all over Europe and for various Popes who made the pilgrimage in their horse-drawn carriages, to walk up and down to the cave. No, it’s not an alley; today it’s a nice open, mountain-aired, flattened gravel-covered walkway. You can also take the very original, ancient route up or down to the cave, the one through the forest. It’s more difficult but hugely enjoyable for sure-footed walkers like me, heh heh). The cave is huge, big enough to have a small chapel inside it; it also has a silver casket containing some of Mary’s bones. (more...)
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:42 PM EST
(more...) In Rome you will find Apostle Matthias in the Church of Mary Maggiore, Bartholomew in the Church on the Island in the Tiber (what a very funny encasement for Barth! I burst out laughing when I saw it. It’s the altar at which Mass is celebrated and it looks like an outsized black-coloured tub bath. Barth musta been the joker, the funny guy amongst the Apostles). James the Less and Phillip’s caskets are side-by-side together in the Church of the Twelve Apostles (also called the Church of the Duo Apostoli, the two Apostles). That’s eight of the original Apostles... the rest unknown. Also in Rome, I’ve visited the casket containing the remains of the later Apostle, St. Paul, in the Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome (stone casket discovered during planned excavations, just a couple years ago). (more...)
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:35 PM EST
(more...) Most of the other Apostles’ remains are in Italy, in old stone or ancient silver caskets, which are on view to the public visiting them – Andrew is in Amalfi, Matthew in Salerno (a very, very astonishingly, beautiful artistic crypt), Thomas in Ortona (famous for a WWII battle between Canadian and German troops; though the Church was bombarded and mostly destroyed, the casket survived intact. That reminds me of St. Benedict, whose remains and those of his sister are buried behind the altar in the monastery atop Monte Casino, site of another great WWII battle and aerial bombardment… the church was obliterated during that terrible battle. One bomb landed in the very spot where Benedict and his sister are buried, but it never exploded… that’s your cue to gasp in astonishment and wonder at God’s power to protect his Saints and Apostles remains). (more...)
jacersagain | Feb 05, 2013, 07:32 PM EST
It’s really hard to know where to rejoin this discussion which has wandered off the main topic with posts varying so much! But I’ll topically stick with RobinForester’s comments for now (you’ll see why later). I’ve often posted here on IC of how that that I’vebeen privileged to visit the known tombs of the original Apostles (the RCC & Eastern Orthodox Churches don’t know where the rest of them are buried… one story emerged recently that one is buried in Romania). The “tombs” are resting places, not graves with foundations as we know them today and all of them are in Catholic Churches except St. John who was buried under the altar of an ancient Christian Church overlooking Ephesus in Turkey that was destroyed by earthquakes. However, his underground tomb is intact though not accessible by the public except on special occasions. John was said to have been asthmatic and if you kneel over the grate above the tomb there and sniff the air out of the tomb, you will allegedly be cured of asthma. I was there once. Apostle Peter, of course, is in Rome, under the Basilica. His few bones discovered during destructive excavations authorised by Pope Paul VI are now encased in indestructible glass-looking squares (as seen in a BBC TV documentary shot in Vatican City, courtesy of present-day Pope Benedict XVI). (More…)
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:07 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
MichaelMcGrath | Feb 05, 2013, 05:06 PM EST
My comment has been edited out , simply because I sought to see the facts, the truth, behind the Laundries here:-) This makes me see the way hatred is engendered against the Church here and elsewhere. Many of those women would have been sentenced to jail by the courts except for the magdalene alternative, many others would have starved. It's obvious that many others came from homes where they were sexually abused. They were undoubtedly harse regimes, but it was almost impossible to survibve in the Ireland of the times where great wealth existed alongside conditions that were not much better than Famine times, and this was the fault of the State that had let down its own Irish people massively and hugely in favour of rampant native capitalism on a scale never witnessed even in the U.S. capitalist society. And this was the real truth behind the country called Irelabnd at the time and I know because I went through it , and I survived, and rthis is the truth that Irish Central blocks and seeks to hide.
RobinForester | Feb 05, 2013, 09:52 AM EST
I am double-posting this because we have another press report on this subject about 2000 Irish children being adopted. This problem is a lot more serious than first reported. The crux of the matter is "Was the mother's placed under any duress to part with their babies". "Were they offered or allowed access to independent legal advice or representation".Did the fathers have any say in the adoption and were they asked to give their consent or interviewed?. Where the child's grandparents consulted and their views sought and recorded'. If the mother was young, possibly immature and uncertain then who represented her and acted as her nominal guardian. With deep` respect to the Irish State, it needs to be pointed out that these were Irish children with all that entails, they were entitled to an Irish birthright and identity and no matter 'how well meaning the cause or end result' (the adoption,) you cannot part a mother and child without taking any of the steps mentioned above to protect the mother and child best interests and welfare. I would argue before these children were adopted a Consent Order from an Irish Court should have been obtained. I get the strong impression that this 'informal adoption process' was in reality a baby farm operation and one needs to ask did money change hands to facilitate the adoption?. Who got this money is of some importance here, and how much did the adopting parents hand over and what became of it, with regard to the children - what attempts were made to monitor there progress in America or elsewhere? The Laundry records do not belong to the Nuns, the laundries concerned, or the Church, but to the National Archives of Ireland: these records are State Property and must be handed over or seized.
bunkerisland | Feb 05, 2013, 08:46 AM EST
Comments about the existence of Jesus are irrelevant. Humans, acting as Catholic nuns together with the State confined young women for decades and exploited them like slaves to carry out laundry work without pay while the various Catholic organizations obtained large profits and the state apparently received bargain prices for this work. Young women: dehumanized, personal names ignored, identified by a number, working endless hours for the duration of their residency, then tossed in unmarked graves should their life end while in residence. It is not unlike a concentration camp. The sale of any of these properties and past profits should be used as "statutory pension" funds for all those still surviving. This as well as a public apology and public shaming of those responsible is the least that should be done.
RobinForester | Feb 05, 2013, 07:08 AM EST
If some on here want to argue Jesus existed we need proof. If you claim there are burial tombs of his disciples we need to see photos and pointers to the locations. Heres a small point: In my hometown about 60 years ago the Council took away all the gravestones in a cemetary because they had weathered away, yet you claim the Jesus followers tombs still exist! All I can say to that is: They must have been excellent builders to do such a good job and not some passing Irish traveller tarmac gang, When you talk or think ''old buildings'' (or tombs) you must think "What cement was used", was the foundations number 1 stone, what depth and who said they were 'those subjects actual graves'? and where are the proof records? If you want me to believe anything I need to see proof. There's more proof in the original article and ''Billies post'' below than a stack of bibles. People recall with tears and speak of the Irish potato famine and deaths, but they never mention who charged a arm and a leg for the burials and made sure they obtained the land and farms that was left behind, that was the real tragedy that befell Ireland and don't ever deny it.
seanomelb | Feb 05, 2013, 12:43 AM EST
Jacer maybe you should visit the graves of the young girls who suicided.I notice you did no reply to Billies post. A matter of conscience I presume.
mreinhar2001 | Feb 04, 2013, 11:23 PM EST
RobinForester: You err in writing that "there are no tombs" of Apostles. You may have deluded yourself into believing that, but if you do some fact checking by reading a published history book with an atheistic bent, you can still read the location of the "tombs of the Apostles."
mreinhar2001 | Feb 04, 2013, 11:23 PM EST
RobinForester: You err in writing that "there are no tombs" of Apostles. You may have deluded yourself into believing that, but if you do some fact checking by reading a published history book with an atheistic bent, you can still read the location of the "tombs of the Apostles."
mreinhar2001 | Feb 04, 2013, 11:23 PM EST
RobinForester: You err in writing that "there are no tombs" of Apostles. You may have deluded yourself into believing that, but if you do some fact checking by reading a published history book with an atheistic bent, you can still read the location of the "tombs of the Apostles."
RobinForester | Feb 04, 2013, 11:15 PM EST
Jacersagain who kindly replies to my last post informs me that 'for proof of Jesus or the Apostles existence" I should visit the Tombs of his desciples, which post places me in a quandary: Do I tell him that there are no tombs, that no proof has ever been found of Jesus life or existence and most people now realize it was a relgious fervour hoax whose end result was the 'we will burn you at the stake rule of the church over ordinary peoples lives' for a period of 800 years or more. This poster reply reminds me of a conversation I had with a person who was deeply religious, she was telling me how she knew about 'written scrolls that Jesus himself had wrote which had been found and they proved Jesus love, Jesus existence and formed the basis of all Christian belief'. I knew this was untrue and when I asked her 'where these scrolls were kept', she answered "in a museum somewhere". The fact is she had imagined this and in this sense it real to her even though it was a delusion - there are no such scrolls or tombs. Returning to the subject of the laundy, we could agree that the worst possible boss to work for would be a nun or priest who wants to change us by forcing religion down our throats night and day. It's novel in a way that this was done in a laundry, but is it, it's done in schools, playgroups, in churches, even in the home, and looking back 60 years in the workplace and prisons, A company I knew had church services twice a day, and unbelievers were not hired.I think in history the worst form of example of religious fervour gone mad was Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Barracks 11 Auschwitz, or you can look at States like Georgia or Missisippi, and shuddder at what occurred there in the 1930s. Margaret is a symbol of religious domination and greed carried to excess and well hidden by adding religious fervour to the pudding.
mreinhar2001 | Feb 04, 2013, 11:13 PM EST
Thank you Irish Central for printing this. I know I give you grief about yellow journalism at times, but you also produce important relevant information. That bastion of irrefutable facts Wikipedia currently indicates that the Protestant version of these workhouses were called "Bethany." Ireland also had state-run work houses and industrial schools. The US had industrial schools and asylums for people with tretable disorders like epilepsy, but started emptying those out in the 1980s. It is shocking to think that the Magadalene Laundry operated well into the mid 1990's off of O'Connell street and that people not much older than me were "incarcerated" there. I could have passed by there without knowing the terror on the inside. As badly as the US is painted in Irish Central articles and replies, I am very glad my family got out of Europe, altogether.
bunkerisland | Feb 04, 2013, 08:08 PM EST
This kind of tragedy makes one buckle over in grief as well as rise up with rage. I have seen the abandoned laundry "workhouses", and the heart breaking film, but Margaret's life is the ultimate in exploitation, intellectual and emotional abuse and neglect and no doubt physical abuse as well. It has all the elements of slavery, dehumanizing and isolating the individual while destroying individuality and exploiting the weak and confused for selfish financial gain. All this carried by a group of Catholic nuns. I am not sure this harm is any less damaging than the acts of priests satisfying their sexual needs while abusing small children. While the Catholic church is not the only institution doing these inhumane acts it needs to bow its head in shame rather than continuing to conceal, deny and disregard the consequences of these violations. Margaret's as a baby was tossed to the winds and essentially put in a labor camp commencing work at age 5. I am not sure those responsible for these actions to thousands of young women can be forgiven for what they have done. The wounds pass on for generations. What of Samantha's current life, and her sister? I hope the turn to writing a book and promoting "gatherings" for those related to all the lost women. Justice? How do we address this?
jacersagain | Feb 04, 2013, 07:41 PM EST
@RobinForestor – sorry, but your posts hold no water. “Eat” tea? May I suggest you bother your barmy to visit as many of the tombs of the original Apostles of Christ? If and when you do, you will have a complete change of thinking. Guaranteed, by me... oh, and by the Apostles... oh, and (silly forgetful me) by their Christ as well.
jacersagain | Feb 04, 2013, 07:09 PM EST
I really hate to post this comment but one of the ‘One in Four’ group leaders in Ireland doing their rightful thing to expose abuse in the Laundries was a friend of my sisters when we were children. She used to visit our house sometimes, playing games with my sisters during the years that she was living in the convent and working in its laundry. I never once saw her unhappy, looking scrawny or hungry, or ever complain about the nuns or anything else that might have happened in the convent. That makes me think that the nuns, and the Irish State, did actually take care of those abandoned by their mothers and fathers during those times. So, the question must be asked, what are those seeking solace for what happened trying to do? Look for monetary compensation from a broke Government? Not to mention those who were not ever abused who are latching on to the ‘compo’ culture. My heart lies with those few who were actually abused.
seanomelb | Feb 04, 2013, 07:04 PM EST
Billie your child is safe the priest may burn in hell.
billie061 | Feb 04, 2013, 06:15 PM EST
I had my 1st child in 1982 unmarried and while it wasn't the laundries it wasn't much better our parish priest refused ton christen her with other babies she was christened on her own, he then refused to give me a baptisimal cert until I produced a marriage cert, A dear friend of mine found the courage to go into rehab last year it was run by the nuns and they were treated like slaves, the entire place was staffed by the residents, they would go to bed at night starving and exhausted, for this they paid 150e a week, workshops were all to do with religion very little about rehab mass every day rosary every day, as well as having religion drummed into them whether catholic or not, rules very strict, no phones, laptops, even hairdyres were forbidden, it was a money making racket free labour, little food, and back breaking work and that was in 2012.
seanomelb | Feb 04, 2013, 05:44 PM EST
Hi Robin! I find your post interesting. Religous fervour is not a get out clause for the sisters in question. The laundry was run as a moneymaking enterprise and slave labour used to make the money. Those who perpetrated the cruelty and denial of human rights should be punished. Some Nuns (in all orders) seem to have a cruel streak and used the cane excessively beyond the bounds of corporal punishment(as did some Christian brothers)I know these practises have ceased,but I've never heard of any of the offenders been punished. If you think the nuns were dilusional it is no excuse and if they were they should have been incarcerated or deemed mentally unfit to be in society. The nuns and the Catholic hierarchy are responsible for the deaths,suicides and the mental state of their charges and they washed their bloos soaked hands of the whole affair .Shame on them.
RobinForester | Feb 04, 2013, 03:36 PM EST
Further to my earlier post it occurs to me that the Sisters who operated this laundry were themselves suffering from 'religious fervour', and they saw it has their duty to save inmates souls by giving them religious instruction to be paid for by work in the laundry. I have just spent an hour or so reading up on religious mania and these are my short notes: Religious belief must by it’s very nature involves delusional behavior. Religion can become an obsession for people. They can become addicted to it to the point that it damages their life and ability to function. Some writers compare religion to an acquired, self-inflicted mental illness. The symptoms of religious fervour are: An inability to doubt or question religious information and / or religious authority. A shame-based belief that you aren't good enough to be a member of that faith or that particular congregation, or you aren't performing your religious duties in the correct manner. A belief that God will fix things for you / or will act on your behalf. Manipulating scripture or texts to support your beliefs and ignoring scientific evidence to the contrary. An smug attitude of righteousness or superiority including the denial of one's own sins and shortcomings. Confusion, mental, physical or emotional breakdown accompanied by weeping, cries for help and what appears to be sincere assertions and claims that they receive special messages from God. (Warning: This post is not to be read after drinking 3 pints of Guiness, or whilst sat admiring the beauty of Killarney, or the grandeur of Galway Bay)
sidhemajik | Feb 04, 2013, 02:57 PM EST
This is the saddest thing I have ever read, it breaks my heart to think of all the suffering these poor souls endured at the hands of the Catholic Church. It is beyond disgusting and the church as well as the government, needs to answer for their sins in enslaving these poor women.
Renelda M. | Feb 04, 2013, 12:55 PM EST
This story brought tears and made me angry, too. The Catholic Church has so many sins to answer for. Soon the good it does will outweigh the evil. Repentance is sorely needed by the Church. I wish the best for this daughter of Margaret Bullen. Hopefully, someday, her mother will rest in peace.
Butterflygirl | Feb 04, 2013, 11:06 AM EST
Katiemac, even viewing this through the eyes of the past, the treatment of these people is unexcusable. They were simply a source of free labor. And the fact that it was run by a "religious" group makes it a whole different case. They should be held to a higher standard. 1950s were not the dark ages, and there is no excuse for anyone, anywhere, to have treated people like this, ever.
RobinForester | Feb 04, 2013, 11:04 AM EST
Sad to say there are 'Margaret and Malcolm's' all over the world. I've met a few in British Asylums when working as a builder (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) one elderly man has a young boy would not eat his tea because his mother had refused to let him go to the childrens picture matinee the day before and she phoned the Council and had him committed to an hospital asylum as uncontrollable, when we met him he was in his seventies and had scrubbed the long corridors in that hospital since age 9, and that's all he knew. A TV drama documentary was broadcast about this Dublin laundry which indicated all was not well there, and the authorities knew it. In another part of the world and not that far for England, they murdered the children, it's said 30 000 died there. What you notice in institutions is how many people are Jesus victims, they've convinced themselves that they are unworthy of Jesus love or blessings, and it all snowballed from there. I have seen one ward full of religious casualties, no Priest or Vicar ever goes to see them, and they hold 'choir singing groups' to pass the time, they sing hymns. It's all quite sad to see. I might Google the subject to see if there are any estimates of the numbers invovled. An Israeli TV documentary claimed they admitted one American patient a week to a mental hospital in Jerusalem, who was suffering from religious fervour and trauma.
handsome68 | Feb 04, 2013, 11:03 AM EST
I remember seeing the movie about the Magdalene Laundries and being appalled; just horrific. Myself, having gone to Catholic schools from childhood through first year (or so) of college, I never experienced abuse nor remember knowing of anyone who did. When in college in 1962, I do remember thinking the young men in formation were or seemed naive. And what with masturbation being a mortal sin, where was all that burgeoning sexuality to go? They told me it was a "charism". (Me, I just didn't have the "charism".)
cillowen | Feb 04, 2013, 11:00 AM EST
Over 100,000 young children who were orphans or had been taken from their Catholic parents, were sent abroad into slavery in the West Indies, Virginia, and New England, that they might lose their faith and all knowledge of their nationality, for in most instances even their names were changed.'' Many of the 25,000 Irish slaves on St. Kitts died from tropical heat, disease, or overwork. Any Irish caught trying to escape was branded FT for Fugitive Traitor on their forehead. Other slaves were whipped, hung by their hands and set on fire, or beaten over the head until bloody for anything the English considered provocation. Over 150 Irish slaves were caught practicing Catholicism and were shipped to the tiny uninhabitable Crab Island where they were left to die of starvation. Of the Irish who managed to stay alive under these drastic conditions and their descendants, many were eventually shipped from the West Indies sugar plantation to the new English settlements in South Carolina.
Silling | Feb 04, 2013, 10:58 AM EST
It all goes on even today, that is the worry.
katiemac | Feb 04, 2013, 10:46 AM EST
I think if you compared any institution that cared for unwed mothers and/or mentally disabled person in this period, no matter what country, no matter who ran them , be it church or government, you would find the same story. The Magdalena Laundries were no better or worse than any such institution of the period. You cannot judge them with the eyes of 2013.
lokionline | Feb 04, 2013, 10:42 AM EST
Many people view the 50's and 60's in Ireland through rose tinted lens. I recall being threatened by my Grandmother and others of her generation in that time with being sent to Artane if I was not well behaved. They knew that it was a bad place but used it to threaten children rather than consider helping end such misery. Despite some progress in the last 50 years Dublin and Ireland are still host to a rough and cynical culture.
RobinForester | Feb 04, 2013, 10:40 AM EST
Sad to say there are 'Margaret and Malcolm's' all over the world. I've met a few in British Asylums when working as a builder (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) one elderly man has a young boy would not eat his tea because his mother had refused to let him go to the childrens picture matinee the day before and she phoned the Council and had him committed to an hospital asylum as uncontrollable, when we met him he was in his seventies and had scrubbed the long corridors in that hospital since age 9, and that's all he knew. A TV drama documentary was broadcast about this Dublin laundry which indicated all was not well there, and the authorities knew it. In another part of the world and not that far for England, they murdered the children, it's said 30 000 died there. What you notice in institutions is how many people are Jesus victims, they've convinced themselves that they are unworthy of Jesus love or blessings, and it all snowballed from there. I have seen one ward full of religious casualties, no Priest or Vicar ever goes to see them, and they hold 'choir singing groups' to pass the time, they sing hymns. It's all quite sad to see. I might Google the subject to see if there are any estimates of the numbers invovled. An Israeli TV documentary claimed they admitted one American patient a week to a mental hospital in Jerusalem, who was suffering from religious fervour and trauma.
Ms.Gail | Feb 04, 2013, 09:40 AM EST
How heartbreaking. What an awful thing to have done to the poor woman, I wish Samantha well in her efforts.
IronMountainMovies | Feb 04, 2013, 09:27 AM EST
I know Samantha and am delighted that such a formidable and extraordinary woman is getting her point across so successfully. While many in the Church and the elites in our establishment would like to sweep this dreadful past under the carpet, Samantha will always be there to make sure that the pursuit and granting of justice, prevails. I salute you Samantha Long! A strong, dedicated, and committed woman is an unstoppable force.
CelticQueenUSA | Feb 04, 2013, 08:48 AM EST
Oh, my heart aches to see this story. How tragic. The Magdeline nuns have a huge bunch of sins to account for. This was brutal treatment and I am putting this on facebook also. God help those women, girls and children who had to endure this torture. They did not ever deserve this manipulation of their lives. Shame on the church. I am glad I left.