Habits of Sin: An Expose of Nuns Who Sexually Abuse Children and Each Other

By Ashley Hill

In recent years, revelations of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic priests have broken out from behind a well-guarded wall of secrecy. Despite the publicity of hundreds of such cases, one area of healing and investigation remains: that of women religious who also are guilty of sexually abusing children and each other. As one pastoral psychotherapist with whom I have had contact put it, this is the next area in which sexual abuse accounting will take place.

Indeed, accounts of women in general who sexually abuse children are nearly non-existent, and research on the topic of nuns and sisters who abuse children presently has not been available. As a published journalist of some twenty-five years, a survivor of such abuse and the founder of the countrys only national support network of survivors of sexual abuse by nuns and sisters, I am in the unique position to write Habits of Sin An Expos of Nuns Who Sexually Abuse Children and Each Other.

Although my original intention was to investigate the topic of child sexual abuse by nuns, I learned during my investigative work and research of nearly six years that serious incidents of sexual abuse between nuns--often for power or educational favors--is also common, and plays well into the topic of nuns who are sexually abusive in general. Therefore, I expanded my original concept.

I have worked with individuals and organizations--all of whom contacted my network--from twenty-three states and Ireland, and it was their contributions and interest that made this book possible.

While the books Lead Us Not Into Temptation and A Gospel of Shame concern the issue of priests who molest children, this expos is the first comprehensive volume about nuns, and to some degree, women, and therefore, serves as an important and new research tool.

This work is filled with information, historical perspectives and personal accounts to help guide readers who are survivors of such abuse to a place of peace. For those reading this simply out of a desire to learn more about this difficult topic, I believe new insight will be shed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 29, 2000
• ISBN: 9781462819812

Ashley Hill

A native of northern New England, the author has been working as a journalist, writer and editor for twenty-five years. Her work has been published in the fields of general interest, business and history. She earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies, with a Concentration in Psychology, from Vermont College of Norwich University. She is also the founder of an abuse-by-nuns network, the first national effort dedicated to the issue of sexual abuse by nuns.

Book preview

Habits of Sin

An Exposé of Nuns Who Sexually Abuse

Children and Each Other

Ashley Hill

Copyright © 1995 by Ashley Hill.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-7-XLIBRIS

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Foreward

Author’s Note

Part One

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Part Two

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Part Three

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

This book is dedicated with love

to mom and dad,

who have sacrificed

and done so much for me.

Foreward

H

ABITS OF SIN

is a well-written and well-researched book. The victims of abuse by nuns and those who now are victors of abuse tell the truth about the life they lived.

The author gives insight to those who ask for help. She took the courage to do what so many of us wanted to do. Tell The Truth. She reached out her hand for those crying for help to say, You are not alone. This book proves you are not alone. You will find that you have others who believe you and lived it, too. Don’t suffer in silence is what the author is saying.

This is the first book ever to help those abused by The Brides of Christ, those who did no wrong. How many people are frightened to tell the secrets because they might loose friendships, fear that harm may come if they talk, won’t be believed? This list goes on with what if’s? No harm will come, because you are not alone.

I remember when I told my doctor. It was hard, but he stood and still stands by my side. He told me, The truth shall set you free. I never believed him. He listened. I talked, cried and still never believed him. Other doctors never believed me; they thought I was making everything up, which hurt me more. I was labeled by doctors, nurses, friends and the Church. But my doctor kept saying, The truth shall set you free. I even cross-stitched it for him because he told me that so many times.

Between my doctor, who fought for me, and the author of Habits of Sin, the truth set me free, and I won. They held out their hands and hearts, but I took their hands and believed in ME. Today, I am free and happy that I told my secrets. Each one in this book is a victor. Each accepted the author’s hand for help and in turn, helped another. It only takes one person, and that’s you.

You have to reach inside of yourself to find The Truth That Will Set You Free. When you find it, you and only you will know. It’s a great feeling you feel down to your toes. Only you can make it happen.

I hope you will receive the gift of courage, to guide you if you need help or just need to know that you are not alone. You never have to be alone; we, in this book are proof.

Thank you to my doctor and to the author, two special people in my life. They believed me and in me. I’m not afraid of the past or of nuns and sisters who abused and still abuse. The Truth is inside and I’m Free because I told the secrets that haunted me and tormented my life for years. I’m happy that I told the truth and happy to tell you that you really are not alone.

Theresa F.

Author’s Note

I

N RECENT YEARS

, revelations of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic priests have broken out from behind a well-guarded wall of secrecy. Despite the publicity of hundreds of such cases, one area of healing and investigation remains: that of women religious who also are guilty of sexually abusing children, and, each other. As one pastoral psychotherapist with whom I have had contact put it, this is the next area in which sexual abuse accounting will take place.

Indeed, accounts of women in general who sexually abuse children are nearly non-existent, and significant research on the topic of nuns and sisters who abuse children has not been available, up to now. As a published journalist of some twenty-five years, a survivor of such abuse and the founder of the country’s only national support network of survivors of sexual abuse by nuns and sisters, I evolved into the unique position to write

Habits of Sin A Exposé of Nuns Who Sexually Abuse Children and Each Other.

Although my original intention was to investigate the topic of child sexual abuse by nuns, I learned during my investigative work and research of nearly eight years that serious incidents of sexual abuse between nuns—often for power or educational favors—is also common, and plays well into the topic of nuns who are sexually abusive in general. Therefore, I was required to expand my original concept.

With the completion of this book, I feel that I have also come to the completion of my efforts in this field. I have spent nearly eight years of my life gathering information, corresponding with abuse victims and opening up opportunities to help others where no help existed. I am a different person today than when I started this project in 1992. Besides new responsibilities, concerns and other natural progressions of life, I truly believe that I have accomplished all that I can concerning this topic. I leave you with what I hope will be a useful and comforting tool, a book filled with information, historical perspectives and personal accounts to help guide you to your place of peace. I can truthfully claim that this effort has set me free; with some work, that claim can be yours as well.

With my toil completed, and chronic illness a steady companion, I have also decided to close down my abuse-by-nuns network. I thank all those who contacted this modest attempt to reach out to do something that had not been done before. Without their courage, none of this could have been accomplished. It is my fervent prayer that

God grace each and every one of them with His love and blessings, and that they in return rediscover their spiritual path back to God and His eternal home.

God bless,

A. H.

Part One

I thought I was the only one

I know where she’s buried.

I went to the cemetery and spit on her grave.

Among her memories are those of a little girl

who was viciously beaten by some Gray Nuns

the night before she died.

Chapter One

T

HE NEWS SEEMS

filled these days with features about the Pope’s upcoming visit to Colorado. What I am thinking about mostly, though, is the Vatican’s role in the marketing of visit-related memorabilia—anything that can tastefully portray him and the Vatican in a positive light. Sweatshirts, tee-shirts, jewelry, mugs, stamps, buttons, something called a pope scope, akin to a periscope.

From a business point of view, the visit is expected to pump $73 million into the local economy. The commercial aspect of all of this seems a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Rome, particularly from my viewpoint, because of the mail and phone calls I’ve been receiving from an emerging, modest support network of people which I founded two years ago: we are all survivors of childhood sexual abuse inflicted by nuns, and we wait in vain to have our voices acknowledged both by society and more importantly, the Catholic Church.

Truly, we seem to represent the last bastion of abuse survivors. Speaking the word incest openly is no longer the taboo it once was, allowing open discussion on a hideously common evil plaguing thousands of families. Sexual abuse victims of doctors have found the courage to step forward and put violators out of business and sometimes, in jail. Children molesting other children is a topic that has made the talk