MovieChat Forums > The Magdalene Sisters (2003) Discussion > The reason why so many nuns are horrible

The reason why so many nuns are horrible

posted 16 years ago by scannon977
35 replies | jump to latest

I was born and raised Catholic. I went to Catholic school, though by that time it was run by lay persons. When my father went to that same school it was run by priets and nuns. I have heard horror stories about that school from my father, though oddly, it has never occured to me to ask him why he would send his kids there if it was so terrible.I guess he did it because it was all he knew. I was raised amoung nuns though, because of my grandmother who was pretty much raised by them. She treated them like mini-gods that could do no wrong. They were horrible women. As a child I did not understand why they were the way they were. As an adult, I get it. I heard them talk of their childhoods in Ireland. They all had hard lives. They were poor and unattractive. In their day, the only choices they had in life was marriage or the convent. They grew up rough, were treated badly by their parents and could not get a man (or didn't want one). So, in order to survive they became nuns. Their choice was for survival, not for their undying devotion to God and the Catholic church. So, they became unhappy, horrible women due to their unfair lot in life. Would you be sweet as pie if you were totally miserible and had no choice but the church? They had no say in what would happen to them. No control of their lives. The church decided what work they would do, and where. Only one of those nuns actually wanted to come to America. The rest were just sent here to work. They were very unhappy women who spread the misery around. Plain and simple. I knew these nuns in the 1970's and 1980's and they were old. In fact, I have never in my life seen an nun younger than 60 or so. Today, I have no ties with the church and have not spoken to a nun in years. I rarely see any nuns in public anymore. I think its due to the fact that women have rights, are able to make their own choices, and are able to take care of themselves without having to marry. Nuns are a dying breed.

[–] expedition10500 16 years ago

What a superb analysis. My congratulations on hitting the mark so acurately.
I don't agree with Sigmund Freud on many issues, but I believe he once said (to crudely paraphrase)that forced sexual repression will seriously *beep* up your life. And in my opinion, others as well. Again, great analysis!

[–] ms-pg-mg-ghrheroes 11 years ago

and yet if u put ur lust in control ,it will only devour ur whole being.Of course God never created anything in vain but any thing could be used in vain,like lust & the sexual needs that were created only to tighten the bounds of marriage & therefore family .rapes,betrayals and many other horrible sins is the result of overlooking the whole purpose of sexual needs.denying yourself of the pleasures that God offered you is a sin & yes it will hunt & bite u in the ass if it's received as it was meant to.

[–] drhdoug 16 years ago

Your comments made such sense to me. I think the same theory applies to gay priests. Gays now have the ability to live mainstream lives without the stigma of not marrying. For the same reason as your 'nun theory', I would imagine that there are fewer men going into the priesthood/brotherhood than in years past.

[–] SPfromOZ 16 years ago

Perfect explanation. I would just like to add that they were also Sexually, Frustrated, Dried Up Old Prunes! Because they had no joy or happiness in their lives they didn't want anyone else to either!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] latebar7609 15 years ago

I grew up Catholic and my church had a couple of nuns for a while. The nun who taught our C.C.D class, which were the Jr.'s and Sr.'s combined, was a woman who was about 24 and she was so cool. This was in 1985/1986. Her name was Sister Mary Ellen and she was so sweet and very hip. She listened to top 40 music and we could all talk to her on a down to earth level. She ended up leaving and going to Italy. I wish I could find her now. I remember when she left she made a joke about hiding me in her suitcase so I could go with her. :) I've always been very short so this is why she made the joke.
I hate that you all had such bad experiences with nuns because the one's I knew, especially this one, were very nice women.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] hodie 9 years ago

If she was young and nice, 5 will get you 10 that she left the order. Lots of nuns did.

[–] violetsurge 15 years ago

Right. So then by that line of reasoning, if someone has a "hard" life, it automatically gives them a license to degrade and abuse an already marginalized section of society?

Many people (women in particular, back in those days) had miserable and at best, bleak lives.

They didn't all end up like those depraved nuns.

[–] does_england_exist 13 years ago

lol, lighten up...

having a REASON for something doesn't mean you are saying it's ok. like if i said the reason people crash cars is because they are drunk, it doesn't mean i think it's excusable.

humans are humans...if you treat someone like crap to the point where that's all they know, they tend to become bitter and treat others they way they were treated. doesn't make it right...it's just the REASON for it.

[–] beedless 15 years ago

Thankfully we live in an era where lesbianism and the nunnery are not the only option for ugly women who aren't funny or charming. Other than marriage to normal men, feminist empowerment has provided a much wider array of options. There's the military, academia, law enforcement, social work, carnivals, and, of course, the convent.

[–] onepotato2 15 years ago

Thankfully we live in an era where lesbianism and the nunnery are not the only option for ugly women who aren't funny or charming.

by - beedless
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Completely obnoxious thing to say about lesbians.

[–] Anabanana21 15 years ago

I understand what your saying, but from my perspective I was brought up in horrific conditions. My mother was a schizophrenic drug addict, whom neglected me and mentally abus(used), my father se(x)ually abused me, as did a lot of the men my mum brought in the house every night and I was only a child. I was unattractive, and have never had a positive male role model in my life, my only relationships have been ab(u)sive also, but I know plenty of people who have been through worse than that, but still neither I or them would ever treat people like *beep* the way some of those nuns did. It is unfair to live in those conditions, and it is horrible to be so unhappy all your life but that is NO excuse for treating people like crap, it only makes you as bad as the people who were bad to you! Agreed some of these nuns will have been in worse conditions but it still doesn't give them the right. Their time would of been better spent spreading joy instead of misery. Take joy from other people, don't make them suffer just because you have, it's totally wrong. And they should of known that these bas(t)ards who ruined their lives will be going straight to hell, whether they were priests or not!

[–] director_80 15 years ago

The film actually unofficially answered the question of why the nuns were the way they were. Remember when the head nun made her confession of being a sinner, and then went on to say how much she loved the cinema. Well that right there goes to show you how bad the system was, if it was in some ways bad to like movies. I mean she was kind of kidding, but at the same time, their was no time in their lives to be watching films. Basically it was implied that you never had any time to just enjoy life as a nun. Another example is the nun who was really making the verbally sexual abusive remarks to the girls. At one point when the brother comes to get his sister out of their, she is constantly staring him down, with a look that said she could just barely control herself. She wanted him and that explains why she was the way she was. Sexual oppression can do that to a person. Finally, the one prisoner, who was violently brought back by her father, and was basically told she had no home or family. She was crushed and begging her father for forgiveness, only to be beaten, then had her hair shaved by the nuns. It hit her, that all she had left was the church, and she chose to become a nun. So that right there shows the system repeating itself. 40 years later she'd probably be just like the other nuns. She had it rough, and saw only hate in life, and therefore would pass it on. Thats probably what happened to a lot of those nuns, as becoming a nun was the greatest thing you could do for your family name, and the family name was the most important thing in Irish society. Thats why the one who was raped was imprisoned, so as to not disgrace the family name.
My point is, the lives of the nuns and the back ground of the women who became nuns was miserable and like many others have posted, they took it out on the next bunch. They were so hateful and had such hurt in their own lives, that all they needed was to be told that it was OK to be cruel and hateful to these women because they were evil and sinners. It didn't make it right at all, but its how it was.
If you read this post, and never noticed the stuff I mentioned in the film, watch for it next time you watch the film, especially the way the nun checks out the girls brother

[–] Anabanana21 15 years ago

I get what your saying, and I understand, the nuns themselves were treated appaulingly, and some had awful lives, so yes most of them only knew hatred, but if they ask themselves if they liked the hate they recieved I'm sure if they truly think about it, it must of made them feel awful, and every person has a heart, I'm pretty sure they can see that the hurt and terror they have themselves felt, is what they are doing to these girls, where the hell is their compassion? Like I said, I myself have had awful conditions and only know hatred, but I don't go around causing people pain and hurt, it's no excuse. Whether they had the WORST WORST things imaginable happen to them, it still gives no excuse for wrong doing. It's like saying somebody who sees someone kill their family infront of them, and then tried to murder them, and then because they've had that immotional torture, they themselves go out and kill and use it as an excuse, it's not it bloody well isn't! I don't care if these nuns were hung from a string by their ankle's at night to sleep, beaten black and blue every second of the day and told they were nothing and had nobody or no love, it's no excuse for their actions! Surely you can see what was done to them was awful and degrading, so why should it be passed on? it shouldn't. Shame on them, it takes a hell of a person to suffer there whole lives but make sure others around them have pleasure and peace, those are the people who should be recognised!