As more and more instances of abuse in the Catholic Church are coming to light, I would like to mention one that I have not seen discussed. It is the verbal and physical abuse of parochial school children by nuns (I am speaking personally from the 1950s era.) I think, I hope, this was caused mainly by women who were extremely unhappy in their chosen profession or were unable to cope with teaching children. I think some of these women felt trapped and afraid to leave their convents, due to retribution from the Church and their peers.
The abuse of which I speak was shame- and guilt-based, aimed at verbally, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically humiliating and degrading those of us who were too timid to speak up and defend ourselves. Many children's spirits were broken, creativity stunted, and playfulness curbed as the result of years under this form of "teaching."
You might wonder why my parents didn't inquire about this type of punishment. During the 1950s, nuns were held in great authority and assumed to be fair and knowledgeable in their field of teaching and caring for children. Parents assumed that their children were punished or dealt with fairly.
The roots of abuse grew deep and strong, and it has only been in the last fourteen years that I have been able to contact, correspond with, and receive the apology and prayers of forgiveness from my parochial school principal. To finally have the confirmation that the nuns were the cause of this abuse and not something I had done or not done was, indeed, healing, but I still struggle at times with feelings of self-doubt, insecurity, and low self-esteem, and probably always will.
I urge anyone who suffered similar abuse to seek out the abusers. Tell them how your life has been altered and demand admission of their abuse. Only then can you begin to understand, accept an apology, try to forgive, and get on with life.