Description
Book Synopsis Since the first scandals broke in the mid-1980s, the sexual misconducts of priests have cost the Catholic Church in America more than $4 billion in compensation settlements and incalculable damage to its reputation. Although their crimes have attracted far less attention, predatory nuns have also caused harm. The depredations of these nuns took place in convent novitiates, orphanages, boarding schools for Native Americans, and in Catholic schools, both elementary and secondary. Their victims, male and female, ranged in age from six-year-olds to young adults.
This book focuses on the criminal behavior of North American nuns and the responses from church leadership. Mothers superior were outspoken in their refusal to accept responsibility for the crimes committed under their watch, and their inclination was to close ranks and protect the predators, endangering many children and young people in the process. The complainants, on the other hand, were considered nuisances to b
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Syllabus of Errors: The Church and Its Sexual Predators
- 2. Foolish Virgins: Novice Nuns and the Vow of Chastity
- 3. A Laying On of Hands: Older Nuns and Younger Ones
- 4. Sorrowful Mysteries: Orphanages
- 5. Weaknesses of the Flesh: Missions to Native Americans
- 6. Unfaithful Servants: Catholic Schools
- 7. Days of Reckoning
- Conclusion
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
