754. The Sisters of Nazareth group homes

The Sisters of Nazareth ran group homes in Scotland at a number of cities like Aberdeen, Cardonald, Lasswade and Kilmarnock. Recent reports found evidence of abuse of children conducted in the years between 1933 to 1984.

While the present management has issued a statement where they apologise wholeheartedly and unreservedly to those who suffered any form of mistreatment, the question remain why there were no oversight of the group homes that actually worked.

It could not have been fun to be at those places where the daily life included:

• force feeding
• beatings with belts, canes, sticks, broom handles, hairbrushes and crucifixes
• persistent sexual abuse of boys and girls at all four homes, with one nun facilitating the abuse of a girl by men including priests
• children who wet their beds being beaten, given cold baths or forced to wear their wet sheets

Sources:

• Children were abused at homes run by nuns, Scottish inquiry finds (The Guardian)
• Children were subject to sexual abuse of ‘utmost depravity’ at home run by Sisters of Nazareth religious order, inquiry finds (The Daily Mail)
• Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry: Nazareth Houses were ‘places of fear’ (BBC)

736. Society of Saint John

This little monestery does not exist anymore. It was sold for other purposes in 2004 and that is good compared with the purpose it had before which seemed to be that priest could have intercourse with students.

It could not have been fun to be there as a student.

Source:
A Catholic society used dreams of a medieval life and rebellion to groom young victims of abuse (NBC News)

730. St Pius X Convent, Kottayam

The St Pius X Convent in Kottayam, India is today mostly known for the death of Sister Abhaya who were between 18 and 19 years at the time of her death. The death itself was tragic and while some claimed that it was suicide even with the extensive numbers of cuts on her body, later investigation did show that it was murder.

The church did little to help the police. In fact they did everything to stall the police investigation putting young women and even children at risk.

It could not have been fun to be a young girl or woman in that Convent.

Sources:

• Church’s cover-up, silencing of sexual abuse rampant in Kerala; institution’s systemic decay gives little hope to survivors (First Post)
• Sister Abhaya murder case (Wikipedia)

610. Smyllum Park Orphanage

Investigation has shown that the bodies of over 100 children have been buried in a local cemetary. Of course it needs to be taken into consideration that the facility opened back in 1864 and the medical standards were not as high as today.

Still some of the deaths cause concern. Former residents speak of abuse. Were some of the death certificates made without proper investigation into what caused the deaths? It seems so.

It could not have been fun to be there as a teenager.

Sources:

• Bodies of ‘hundreds’ of children buried in mass grave (BBC)
• Hundreds of Scottish orphanage children allegedly buried in mass grave (The Guardian)
• Hundreds of children’s bodies from Smyllum Park Orphanage found in mass grave (Metro.co.uk)

557. Catholic Agricultural College

Catholic Agricultural College in Bindoon Australia was constructed using imported children who received no salary for their work. Combined with a level of abuse which was organized by Brother Paul Francis Keaney continued for too many years.

It could not have been fun to arrive in a foreign country as a child only to be put into work without pay.

Sources:

• Bindoon Boys Town: The sad truth behind Britain’s lost children (The Independent)
• Paul Keaney (Wikipedia)
• Christian Brothers raped and tortured boys in WA, commission told (The Guardian)

271. Bessborough House, in County Cork (Ireland)

Children born outside marriage was regarded as shameful for the mother and her family, so the children were often sent to homes hidden from the local communities.

It seems that some of the children were used as guinea pigs in vaccine trials. Some of the children were hurt in the process. Some might even have died. It is not clear if that happened because for obvious reason records were not kept because people realized that it became a dark chapter of Irelands history.

It couldn’t have been fun to be there as a teenager, if a child made it that far in this home.

Sources:

• Children in Irish homes were used in vaccine trials (Essential Baby)
• Irish Care Home Scandal Grows As Children Revealed To Be Used As Vaccine Guinea Pigs (The Daily Beast)
• Mass Grave of Dead Babies in Ireland Used as Guinea Pigs for Pharmaceutical Company (Reader Support News)

262. St Joseph’s Industrial School (Ireland)

St Joseph’s Industrial School was located in Artane, Dublin. It opened in 1870 with the aim of caring for neglected, orphaned and abandoned Catholic boys. It closed in 1969.

They used corporal punishment. More important a govermental report provide evidence of sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse of boys was a chronic problem in Artane. The documented and admitted cases show that for more than half of the 33 years under consideration there was at least one Brother in Artane who at some time engaged in sexual abuse of boys. Much more abuse occurred than is recorded in documents because of inadequate recording and reporting procedures and other causes of under-reporting. Sexual activity between boys was also common and there was a significant amount of predatory sexual behaviour by bigger boys on smaller, vulnerable ones.

It could not have been fun to be sent there as a teenager.

• St Joseph’s Industrial School, Artane
  (‘Artane’), 1870–1969 (CICA Investigation Committee Report)
• 10 Creepy Abandoned Boarding Schools of the World (Urban Ghosts)

261. The Mother/Baby Home Tuam

The Mother/Baby Home Tuam existed from 1925 to 1961. Like many other homes for teenage girls who became pregnant outside marriage they housed the girls until the babies were born. The mothers then returned home if they were lucky. Otherwise the girls were sent to other asylums where they were kept because they had brought shame over their family due to the pregnancy.

The babies were put up for adoption if they survived the stay. Recent discovery of the remains of 800 bodies belonging to babies might suggest that something awful was wrong with this home. They didn’t take the time to buy a coffin for each of these small humans. They just dropped them down in a concrete tank. Where are the Christianity found in such thinking?

It is safe to say that it was not fun to be a pregnant teenager in such a place.

Sources:

• Mass septic tank grave ‘containing the skeletons of 800 babies’ at site of Irish home for unmarried mothers (The Daily Mail Online)
• Final resting place for 800 Irish babies: Septic tank (USAtoday)

260. Sean Ross Abbey (Roscrea, Ireland)

Sean Ross Abbey was one of the places where teenage girls would be sent if they became pregnant outside marriage. It was considered a social scandal for a girl if that did happen and such girls were often locked up in a convent like Sean Ross Abbey until the child were delivered. Later the child often was sent to the United States for adoption and the mother would be released if she was lucky to live the rest of her life with the secret shame.

Some babies and young mothers didn’t make it. They ended up at the Angels Plot which people connected to church are working to destroy and replace with houses to hide the past.

It could not have been fun to have been sent there as a pregnant teenage girl.

Sources:

• Survivor’s Anger at Sale of ‘Angels Plot’ in Roscrea (Tipperary Star)
• New evidence that Irish children were murdered (The Ragged Wagon)

71. Synanon

IRS, people cutting off their balls and a teenager who disappeared never to be seen again are only something of the crazy things which went down with Synanon

Some claim people were murdered. Fact is that things that went by at Synanon established a industry where youth were held captive. The founder of CEDU walked the hallways of Synanon.

It was not a fun place for a teenager to be.

Sources:

• Rose Lena Cole (The Charley Project)
• Fachsheet (Fornits Wiki)