Abstract
During 2019 we conducted interviews with five women who have current or previous life experience in women’s religious orders (nuns). The women are from Argentina, France, Germany, Peru, and The Philippines. The findings were published as Figueroa and Tombs (2021):
https://scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/media/75046/print_ch-17_whendidweseeyounaked.pdf
The current chapter offers further findings from the three members of the group who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic priests during their time in the religious order. It asks the participants if their vocation and identity as a nun and person of faith influenced positively or negatively their response to the abuse and the impact in their lives. It gives particular attention to: the systemic factors within the Church enabled the abuse; the impact that the abuse had on the women’s sense of self and self-worth; whether or not they viewed the suffering of Christ alongside their own suffering and how they understood this connection.