Shutup Shutup Shutup

It is, after all, just a movie

yes, I am Irish (born and bred) and was brought up a Catholic, and there is no excuse for the treatment that was handed out to young girls in these institutions right up until very recently. They were abused, terrified and milked for free labour. They got no education, training, nurturing, nothing, only beatings and abuse.

I am sure there were good nuns and priests out there - there are some in my family and I believe them to be good people, but that does not justify the abuse handed out to children and young people in Ireland, from paedophile priests to slavery in the laundries and to the more mundane beatings and humiliations handed out every day in schools by sick people with a twisted view of sexuality and on a power trip. And taking it out on children supposedly in their care, which makes them the worst sort of bullies.

now, I am not going to tell anybody to shut up, because everybody is entitled to their view and their voice, and that is mine.

Thanks Aoife.
You and I are on the same wavelength.
Just watch the replys!!!

''There are no coincidences only patterns we do not see...''

Is subjecting women who had committed no legal offense to arbitrary detention and human rights abuses your genuine idea of "moderation"?!? I understand that you're trying to say that there are two sides to the argument, but the actions of those nuns were indecent and abusive. The Nazis, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban all believed what they were doing was right, but that doesn't mean we don't have the right to be disgusted by their actions. You also seem to have missed the fairly major point that the nuns' primary interest was using the girls for free labour as a money making enterprise. The nuns' used them for slave labour, illegally detained them, physically attacked, humiliated them and leered at their bodies. I was educated at Catholic school, and I have to say I missed the part of the Bible where it said that your sins can be cured if the priest rapes you...
As for being shocked at the fact the girls fornicated outside of marriage: firstly, I would state that over 95% of people nowadays have sex before marriage, so although you may disapprove, you can't possibly be genuinely shocked. And I wonder, can you find ONE valid reason OTHER than unexplained statements in the Bible that would explain why sex outside of marriage is bad thing...don't use the case of unwanted pregnancy. There's this modern thing called a condom - oh, but I suppose contraception would be part of the disgusting immoral world we live in today. Ahh, for the good old days of institutional rape and misogyny!
Also, have you seen this movie??? Margaret was RAPED. You obviously wouldn't know *beep* about it, but it's an extremely traumatic experience which NO ONE (well possibly a very few extremely sexually kinked people) would willingly submit to. If I had a daughter (dammit, I hate the way I can't capitalise I for emphasis!)who was raped I would be there for her to make it as easy to bear as I possibly could because she would need all my help, rather than have her commited indefinitely to some asylum run by lunatics and sadists (And yes, the well-meaning people you mentioned - Katy, for example. But the majority of what went on was governed by Sister Bridget's views...and she was a no-hols-barred sociopathic sadist!) She did NOT deserve it. Rose did not deserve it either, she deserved a chance at being a good mother to her baby, now she had brought it into the world. But even if you consider fornication to be a sin, Margaret and Bernadette had not commited it.
As for Bernadette, she was commited for TALKING to some boys. If the girls at my school were commited just for doing that, they'd be shipping them off daily.
Just because morality is subjective, that doesn't mean everyone should refrain from making their own judgements about right and wrong. You're criticizing us because we judge the nuns' actions as wrong, should we all become nihilists? We don't have anything concrete, so people might as well make up their own minds. We're judging them by our morals - the Nuns were judging the "Penitents" by THEIR morals. You're also contradicting yourself as you go on to label the girls immoral along with homosexuals, gamblers and pro-choice lobbyists. In fact even the bestials and necrophiliacs you reference - what makes their actions any more immoral than what the Nuns did? I find the idea of necrophilia and bestality pretty sickening and disgusting, but those people probably have serious psychological conditions (as did most of the nuns)and in most cases they don't cause any harm to any other (living) human beings. So in terms of intent and effect, their actions are no more immoral.
Also, you seem to be religious, so clearly you judge people by your own set of morals. Would you leave children in abusive homes because after all evryone has different ideas about childcare?
Know who was going about their daily business while the Magdalene laundries were going strong? MOTHER TERESA. Now SHE was a good nun, not these deluded women.

"I am sure that much of what those nuns did may have been sinful and immoral - but when you look at today's society which is a den of immorality - abortion, murder, homosexual marriage, bestialigy, necrophilia, gambling, corruption, greed, lust, violence, torture ...quite frankly what those nuns were doing now seems like chicken feed!"
Um, NO IT DOES NOT! The Magdalene Laundries were an absolute haven of corruption, greed, violence, torture and lust of a twisted nature. Which I assume is the kind of lust you consider to be wrong, since in case you hadn't figured out, lust is a natural physiological drive, such as hunger, which helps the human race to reproduce and keep producing more lovely nuns! There's nothing wrong with having sex with someone you love, it's natural (Well actually it's NATURAL to have sex with all and sundry, but more accepted -and at its best-with someone you love)
And absolutely NONE of the things you mentioned are specific features of "todays society". Maybe "homosexual marriage" hasn't been allowed up till now, but in some times/places in Ancient Greece it was common practice to be bisexual, with two partners! There was an entire island "Lesbos", purely for lesbian entertainment. Abortions have been performed since Ancient times, too (I am moderately pro-life) they didn't spring into existence when they were legalised. Gambling, corruption, greed, lust, bestiality, necrophilia have all been around for millions of years...probably forever. Things aren't any worse now, it's just a common misconception because modern culture allows more freedom of expression so these things are more openly discussed, and I suppose the delusional view of vice being a moden invention is irritated by the fact we were preceded by the sex-phobic Victorians. From everything I've learned about history, I can conclude that although we live in a pretty *beep* up world, things are getting better by the day.
People are not fascists by stating their opinions that this treatment of women was disgusting. The girls had commited no crime and were legal adults, and thus the nuns were guilty of arbitrary detention, forced labour, sexual abuse and numerous breaches of international human rights laws (many of which WERE in action during the time period the film is set). Your use of the word fascists is pretty ironic, since I can gather from the other posts on here, that I'm not the only one who found myself at times reminded of scenes Schindler's List, The Pianist and Anne Frank.
Your blatant homophobia disgusts me beyond expression. To me, whether some is good or bad depends largely on whether it is being done with compassion, and the nuns showed the girls no compassion, kindness or support at all. They can't be compared with two men or women in a loving, trusting relationship who hurt NO ONE. What people so often miss when making moral judgements is whether they are actually causing anyone any pain. Jesus spoke out against the Pharisees for using the temple as a money-making enterprise which extorted the local people. Do you honestly think he would be happy about the mere existence of the Magdalene Asylums, let alone the fact they were using his name?
When you think about it, if Heaven could sue, they would have more cases than any organisation in the world XD. The original Mary Magdalene was NOT forced to starve herself and live her life in slavery - she joined Jesus and became a prominent member of the early church. The Magdalene girls weren't given a chance to do anythign positive about their situations - in fact after breakign out, the only choice for some of them was prostitution.
Thanks for your time, PS Jesus had dinner with prostitutes without giving them a hard time!

17 years old//Female//Brought up Catholic, not affiliated with any official religion but strong "christian tendencies"! :D//English

*insert witty signature here*

They fornicated outside marriage??? Damn, do you live in some other century or on some other planet?

There are probably similar institutions in other countries right now and we just havent heard about them yet. I think Peter Mullan tried to give a voice to the 'Magdalene' girls whose lives had been ruined, even though by now some have died, some arent even bothered about compensation.

"you look at todays society which is a den of immorality - abortion, murder, homosexual marriage, bestiality, necrophelia, gambling, corruption, greed, lust, violence, torture . . . quite frankly what those nuns were doing now seems like chicken feed"

The nuns were guilty of corruption, greed (using the girls for free labour), violence and torture (psychological torture). And I'm pretty sure murder, bestiality and necrophelia aren't recent inventions. As for abortion preventing a fetus from growing into a baby is nothing compared to taking a newborn baby off its mother. I would point out other hypocrisies you mentioned but the snork maiden has done it for me. Jesus never said that homosexuality, abortion or premarital sex were sins but he talked plenty about abuse of power and loving your fellow man.