A Catholic-School Veteran Tells All

I had 12 years of Felicians, CSSF, in Bayonne, NJ. Most, not all, were frustrated and unfulfilled. A nun once thought I was talking and bloodied my knuckles with a ruler. Another would not let me go to the bathroom; I went in my pants and returned home with a bottom raw with feces; our third grade nun (Sr. M. Adamina) made us practice for our first confession by going to the classroom door, getting on our knees and "walking" to her desk at the other end of the room; we had to kiss her hand and ask for forgiveness. Should we really be surprised when we learned about all the sexual abuse back then by both nuns and priests? Those of us who lived through the 50s and 60s lived through an "inquisition" of our own. Clergy were mentally disturbed, power-hungry, mean-spirited individuals who had no right dealing with young children and adults. I once again want to state that not ALL were like that; however, I venture to guess MANY, MANY were. People today are put into jail for less than what we experienced under the guidance and love of the "good sisters".

I had 12 years of Felicians, CSSF. Most, not all, were frustrated and unfulfilled. A nun once thought I was talking and bloodied my knuckles with a ruler. Another would not let me go to the bathroom; I went in my pants and returned home with a bottom raw with feces; our third grade nun (Sr. M. Adamina) made us practice for our first confession by going to the classroom door, getting on our knees and "walking" to her desk at the other end of the room; we had to kiss her hand and ask for forgiveness. Should we really be surprised when we learned about all the sexual abuse back then by both nuns and priests? Those of us who lived through the 50s and 60s lived through an "inquisition" of our own. Clergy were mentally disturbed, power-hungry, mean-spirited individuals who had no right dealing with young children and adults. I once again want to state that not ALL were like that; however, I venture to guess MANY, MANY were. People today are put into jail for less than what we experienced under the guidance and love of the "good sisters".

As a child of the fifties and sixties who attended both Catholic and public schools, I wish to offer a different set of memories than the author. When I remember the Sisters of Loretto who taught me I remember only loving dedicated women, who encouraged me to be a thinking independent woman. I was taught by Sisters who had endured imprisonment under the Japanese in WWII and the Red Chinese in the late 40's ....
On the other hand, the only time I saw children physically abused was in public schools ... e boys were always being sent to Coach for discipline. My public school teachers were far more dictorial and prejudiced and unreasonable as well as downright mean than the Sisters of Loretto ...In fifth grade, my publlic school teacher whipped a boy being transferred to our class because he had been tossed out of other classes. As a way of introducing him to us, she berated him and then using a thick strap beat him on his back and buttocks ... it was awful
I never saw anything that came within a mile of that in Catholic schools
Yes, the Sisters were strict but they were loving and concerned and totally dedicated to their vocations.
Possibly the Lorettines were better because they were an US based order having been founded in Kentucky during the colonial days ... they were women who wagon trained west ..
and Texas public schools were still full of old women who couldn't stand Mexican Americans and/or Catholics (or Jews or anything but riigid fundamentalism)
But I would take the strictiest sister over any of my public school teachers any time

I attended Catholic school from 1st thru 6th grades. I feel that at that time I was given a better education when it came to fundementals such as reading, writing and arithmetic. However I do recall boys getting slapped, slammed up against walls and hit with a rosery. The girls mostly got grabbed by the shoulder and shook. The nuns were either wonderful angels or total harridans. There never seemed to be an in-between. BH1960

I went to public school in the 60s and 70s. Corporal punishment was used there too. I remember being paddled in the hall. Friends of mine were slammed against lockers. Sadistic gym teachers seemed to revel in the practice. I have no first hand knowledge of the Catholic's plight. But when I hear them talk about crazy nuns I can't help but think of my seventh grade english teacher.

Yep, well, here you are writing for Newsweek. So maybe that Catholic education, and what went with it, wasn't such a bad thing after all.

I can identify with the smack across the knuckles. I was nine years old (1960) and was reading a library book in class because I already knew the lesson, as I had been allowed to do in my former school (a cheap form of special education). I didn't understand why the nun took away my book (I thought she thought it not appropriate for me) so I pulled out another one and that earned me a smack on the knuckles. It also taught me school isn't for fun. On the other hand, I really saw very little physical discipline throughout the years, most of the nuns were very kind (there was always the odd one), and I much prefer physical discipline to the type of mental anguish and humiliation that is meted out regularly in the schools today. Spanking was allowed in public schools in the "olden days" as well and my brother regularly felt the public school paddle. As usual, attempts to squelch physical "violence" in one arena cause it to erupt in another (i.e. torture in the prisons). The old swing of the "morality" pendelum never deals with the real issues.

As a victim of a "Catholic" education, I can attest to the degrading and long-lasting lessons delivered by various nuns, priests and monks. Their lessons were so clear, I made it a point that no child of mine would ever step foot into a Catholic school or church. One can say that discipline is lacking in today's institutions of primary and secondary education, but, at least, many of us do not provide these sociopathic representations of relligious personalities with our children as the "punching bags" they seem to so desperately need. If the Pat O'Brien, Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman versions of people of the cloth actually do exist, I, personally, have never met one. They seem to act like Father Flanagan only when they want money.

The statute of limitations on childhood suffering has to end as some point-if you were a kid in the 50's or 60's and got bullied by priests and sisters you have had 40 years to work through it. Stop sullying the reputation of the devoted teachers in these schools (which ahve almost no priests or sisters workign there any more), who make signifincatly less money than other teahcers and still provide quality education. i am in my 30's; I started attending Catholic school in 7th grade and continued through college. I never had a priest or sister hit me, though several put me in m y place when I was being a smart-mouted brat, a skill that is woefully lacking in our current society of overindulged, entitled children whose parents make them victims if they get cut from sports teams. Mr. Noonan, get a therapist.

I attended Catholic schools for 12 years, having Sisters of St Joseph for 8 of them and Notre Dame nuns for 4. In all that time I never saw a single incident of corporal punishment (although I should have been a candidate for some). The experience Mr Noonan had should have the same weight as mine when it comes to attesting to facts, but I know the Catholic bashers would want to believe him rather than me. I would be willing to bet there are stories about SOME teachers abusing kids in ALL schools at one time or another

Although Catholic School -- where I did my own 13 year stint in Pennsylvania -- was a challenge in terms of the nature of discipline, it really did not fall outside of the realm of acceptable disciplinary procedures in the public school system. My only suggestion at this point is get over it. An article like this in 2009 is really just pointless and tells us far more about the author than the experience.

As a high school senior in Catholic school I was subjected to paddling with a three-foot long paddle by a priest, for the "crime" of forgetting to show up for lunchroom monitor duty. Needless to say this was humiliating and filled me with rage for weeks after. We also had a gym teacher who regularly engaged in physical abuse and verbal humiliation of students.My revenge was to never contribute a dime to the school as an alumni.