Irish Nuns 'Forced Children to Eat Their Own Vomit and Put Soiled Bedsheets on Their Heads As Punishment at Care Homes'
By Lizzie Parry
Children were forced to eat their own vomit and put soiled bedsheets on their heads as punishment at care homes run by nuns, the largest public inquiry into institutional child abuse was told. The investigation into the behaviour of Catholic nuns from the Sisters of Nazareth children's homes in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, heard children were also forced to bathe in disinfectant and were beaten for wetting the bed. In a harsh regime where the youngsters were known by numbers rather than their names, many were subjected to humiliation, threats and physical abuse, counsel to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Christine Smith QC said. Forty-nine former residents of the Nazareth House Children's Home and St Joseph's Home, Termonbacca in Derry, have given evidence, describing their treatment at the hands of the nuns to the inquiry sitting at Banbridge courthouse. A total of 16 church and state-run care homes are being investigated as part of the inquiry presided over by retired judge Sir Anthony Hart, and is expected to run until June next year. Outlining the details of the alleged abuse, Ms Smith told the inquiry children were assaulted with sticks, straps and kettle flexes. It is said siblings were separated and not told where their brothers or sisters were living, children were bullied by their peers, locked in cupboards and humiliated for bed wetting, and forced to stand with the soiled sheets on their heads as punishment. Youngsters were allegedly forced to work on farms or in the laundry instead of going to school and Christmas presents and other personal items were confiscated. Ms Smith said those giving testimony accused the nuns of leaving them without food and added that when they were ill they were allegedly forced to eat their own vomit. She said the accusations also included allegations of sexual abuse by older children, visiting priests, employees and in one instance a nun. A senior member of the order made a submission to the inquiry acknowledging that an individual sister or common staff member, having worked long hours with children from troubled backgrounds, may have lost her temper and acted inappropriately. She accepted there was scope for bullying because they could not keep eyes on all the children. 'The sisters always tried to provide the best care with the staff and resources available to them,' she added. She said they had little information to give the inquiry about sexual assaults but were extremely upset about them. At Nazareth House in 1996, a sexual abuse allegation was raised with police. 'Police advised the home in 1997 that a prosecution would not be made,' Ms Smith said. In August 1997, a further allegation of abuse against the same person was made by two people. The individual was subsequently dismissed. Ms Smith said delays by the order in submitting evidence caused considerable difficulties. Material was not properly ordered and was still being received up to last week, despite hearings being planned for many months. She said: 'This less than whole-hearted and rapid response on the part of the congregation has caused considerable difficulties to the work of the inquiry. 'The congregation is not the only body whose approach has produced problems. We do appreciate that this is not always avoidable, but we hoped that such late delivery could have been avoided - given the difficulties which it causes for the inquiry.' She added: 'Until recently the cooperation by the congregation of the sisters of Nazareth in the provision of material has not been as complete or rapid as the inquiry would have hoped.' The order was asked to cooperate voluntarily and produce documents in 2012. Ms Smith acknowledged that the information was old and not stored in a single orderly archive. 'A considerable amount of material was provided. However, the information which the inquiry received has been provided in a haphazard and piecemeal fashion.' The inquiry team spent a considerable amount of time trying to work out which nuns were which and when they were involved in the homes. A significant volume of information has been provided in recent days. On Friday they received two further witness statements. Public hearings are due to finish in June 2015, with the inquiry team to report to Stormont's power-sharing Executive by the start of 2016.
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