LCWR continues to deflect inquiries about sexual abuse by nuns

The LCWR meeting is underway in Nashville!  And I am not there, because they rejected me after I applied for credentials.

Where’s the transparency?

The Fishwrap is even concerned about their stonewalling.  HERE

But wait!  There’s more!

Also in Fishwrap (aka the National Schismatic Reporter) had this, about sexual abuse of children by nuns.

A decade later, struggle for accountability within LCWR on abuse continues

Last week, we in the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests celebrated our 25th anniversary. This week, we take note of another, less positive milestone.
It’s now been 10 years since we first began prodding the largest group of U.S. nuns to take action on abuse by women religious. It’s been a frustrating and fruitless decade.

Almost every August since 2004, we have shown up at and held news conferences outside the annual gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, America’s largest organization of nuns. We’ve begged LCWR to expose the truth about child sex crimes and cover-ups by women religious. We’ve politely but firmly urged it to take simple steps to protect the vulnerable from abusive nuns and heal those wounded by abusive nuns.

And we’ve been politely but repeatedly rebuffed. (Our website lists each of our interactions with the LCWR over the past decade.)

How many boys and girls over the decades have been sexually violated by nuns? No one knows. We in SNAP have roughly 250 men and women who report having been molested by women religious, most as children, a few as adults. Who knows how many more are out there, likely suffering in silence, shame and self-blame?

Specifically, we’ve asked the leaders of the LCWR to:

[…]

You can read the rest over there.

Where is the transparency?  Are the nuns going to talk about this at their annual assembly?

Even if they do… who would know?

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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8 Comments

  1. FrAnt says:

    I am amazed at the silence of men and women on this subject. If priests were abusing children, logic would say that sisters should be investigated as well. Is it because the LCWR are fighting for the radical feminists? Is it because they are strong supporters of “women’s health?” Just a thought.
    PS: I hope you noticed that I used the term “sisters” rather than “nun.” While there is the possibility for abuse anywhere, nuns being cloistered have less contact with the world outside their convents. The work of sister is in the world, hence a greater exposure to children. “Nuns on the Bus” must sound better than, “Sisters on the Bus.”

  2. e.davison49 says:

    I guess if the LCWR nuns won’t let you come to cover their meeting directly, you can help them out by covering them indirectly.

    Just deserts.

  3. Random Friar says:

    If they paid settlements, they wouldn’t have enough money to have such swank gatherings.

  4. SimonDodd says:

    One feels slight sympathy for LCWR: With apologies to Sir Winston, if SNAP invaded Hell, I should at least put in a good word for the Devil in the House of Commons.

  5. Chon says:

    I used to have a hard time believing sisters would abuse like that. Then, a few months ago, my cousin told me our aunt was abused by a sister when she was in boarding school at a big convent that is two miles from where I live (on the left coast). I was taught by such wonderful sisters, the Ursulines in Cumberland, Maryland, that I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this.

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  7. incredulous says:

    Chon, look at the high profile case after case after case of female teachers in the government school system who victimize both female and male children under their stewardship via statutory rape. Look at how society makes fun of 15 year old boys sodomized by 45 year old teachers pining how they wish there were teachers like that when they were 15.

    Look at the liberal double standard. We as society will continue to look at LCWR as “victims” of a male patriarchy so that when a few of them engage is predatory and criminal behavior by violating children, we still harbor a cognitive dissonance believing that viscous predators are really sweet, misunderstood victims. As if male predators weren’t victimized when they were innocent too. But, that’s not relevant. Rightfully so, nobody cares that a serial rapist was abused as a child if the rapist is male.

    It’s just bigotry to set a different standard for women. Further, it ignores Catholic teaching whereas we are all sinners needing God’s grace to overcome our sin. Women don’t hold a position of sanctity and sacredness simply because of their sex. They are every bit as capable of the most heinous of crimes and should be dealt with according to principles of equal protection.

    Moreover, this cognitive dissonance regarding women is harmful. It allows Satan to literally hide behind skirts while the king of lies attacks all that is God and all that is good. We act on reason and intellect and this refusal or resistance accepting the sinful nature of all of humanity (not just the evil man) is simply not Catholic as it ignores the truth in favor of emotion and feelings.

    I’m tired of aggressive predators feigning victimhood and given a free pass by society simply because they wear skirts.

  8. JesusFreak84 says:

    I think at least part of this stems from how our society views teacher-on-student, adult-on-youth, abuse period based on gender. Compare how the media covers a male public high school teacher abusing a minor to a female teacher having a relationship with a 16-year-old male student. The former is rightly called a sex criminal, but the latter is hailed almost as a hero and the male student not as a victim, but a “stud.”

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