Religious Sisters Accused of Abuse

Sexual abuse among religious sisters is still a neglected aspect of the ongoing abuse crisis. Shortly before the Spotlight revelations, scholars found that many nuns had suffered abuse at the hands of priests and their own superiors. Previous studies (1, 2, 3) by two religious sisters had revealed that abuse was a particular problem in Africa and other scenes of evangelization.

Mary Dispenza, who was abused as a child in Los Angeles, was abused again as a postulant by her religious superior.
Mary Dispenza, who was abused by a priest as a child in Los Angeles, was abused again as a postulant by her religious superior.

The abuse of religious sisters by their senior colleagues is a kind of spiritual and vocational abuse that is also found in high schools, where sisters have sometimes abused girls as a way to introduce them to religious life. Female religious have also abused children in parochial schools, in orphanages and children’s homes, in schools for the deaf and other specialized institutions, and in Native boarding schools. When children have no parents nearby, and when religious sisters have total 24/7 control of the children, the abuse can be especially violent and hurtful – combining spiritual, cultural, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse in ways that are uniquely damaging for the defenseless children and the adults they will become.

This webpage provides a list (see below) of the religious sisters in the United States who are publicly accused of sexual abuse. The names in this list are linked to the full accounts in our Database of Accused, and the acronyms of the religious orders are linked to our lists of the accused sisters in each order. Most entries in this list also end with a link to an important article or document, to provide you with a starting point in exploring the public record.

The different venues of abuse are highlighted in red, and the status of the allegation is highlighted in purple. The gender of the victim is bolded, and we also provide the age of the victim and the year of the abuse. Another important feature of the list is the diocese – particularly significant when the abuse is committed by a religious sister working at the bishop’s behest and under his ultimate authority in a parochial school. But even in institutions that seem to be separate from the diocesan structure, the bishop is a powerful presence, and diocesan priests sometimes function as chaplains and in other capacities.

The 176 offending sisters who are publicly known and profiled here are just 2% of the 8,362 persons currently in our Database of Accused. Many factors have contributed to keep this sample small. Media coverage of the abuse crisis and consequent public awareness have focused on a male triangle of bishops supervising priests abusing boys. Male victims of abuse by sisters have faced particular resistance and skepticism. High school girls and young religious sisters who suffer abuse both struggle with mixed emotions in pursuing their complaints. The numerous, and mostly small, female religious orders are difficult legal terrain for attorneys representing persons abused as children by religious sisters. When lawsuits are filed, the female religious orders and their umbrella organizations have defended themselves vigorously. They have benefited from the strong public impression that offenders, victims, and enablers are male.

But Catholic experience has long been dominated by religious sisters. At the height of their influence in the mid-1960s, there were 179,954 sisters in the U.S., compared to only 58,632 priests. Sisters have been involved in the ongoing abuse crisis in many ways – as therapists, victim intake specialists, diocesan officials, staff and managers of institutions, and teaching sisters and principals. In schools and institutions, religious sisters had untold opportunities to abuse children, and also dealt with many priests trying to gain access to children for the same purpose. Some sisters became whistleblowers, but many more were enablers or offenders themselves.

As this reality comes more apparent, it is to be hoped that religious sisters will take ownership of their complex involvement in the ongoing Catholic abuse crisis. Many perpetrators remain to be identified, and sisters known to be accused need to be better documented. As you can see from the list below, many are only known by their religious names, and many details of the cases remain to be established. The survivors deserve a commitment from the female religious orders to deal accountably and transparently with this history.

Survivors deserve the same level of commitment from BishopAccountability.org. This list was last updated on 1/1/26. Please help us to make it better. Contact us at staff@bishop-accountability.org with corrections and additional information. Consider sitting down with us for a zoom or in-person oral history, so that your important experience can become part of the public record. Thank you!

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  • Sr. Agnes OSB – San Antonio TX – parish school – girl – sued – twice reported the abuse in confession
  • Sr. Alice Bernadette SC – Newark NJ – parish school – 1971 girl, age 10 – sued – helped priest rape the girl
  • Sr. Anne OSF – Buffalo NY – parish school – 1973 child age 7 – sued – lawsuit
  • Sr. Annette – St. Louis MO – parish school – 1999-2002 girl special ed – sued – abused by priest too
  • Sr. Arthur SCN – Louisville KY – orphanage & school – 1960s-1970s girl – settled

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