Sr. Bethany Madonna: "Prayer" | SLS2016

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ค. 2017
  • Sr. Bethany Madonna shares the significance of prayer in our relationship with God at SLS2016.
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ความคิดเห็น • 132

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Sometimes I get nervous going to confession and I worry that God the Father will not forgive me he's there with open arms willing to forgive me

  • @helenclamor
    @helenclamor 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Burning Fire when our Most Holy Spirit is actively present.
    Surrender availabilty and He bring us to the depths and the heights of Faith, Love and Charity 💖

  • @flightless8903
    @flightless8903 5 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Today I came across this by chance and I literally cried when she did the "sign of the cross", because I knew I am in for a rude awakening and awakened I am. I was debating a decision of what to do in an unhealthy relationship and this helped me. May the Lord bless you all sisters and thank you for praying for the world.

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Amen sister I love your sermon. Me and my family we live in Northern California past Sacramento but not quite San Francisco.

  • @selinas_esta_aqui
    @selinas_esta_aqui 7 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    "perfect love casts out fear" May our youth, not be afraid of the love that God has for them, but may we "Set the believers an example" and set this world on fire with his love. Amen.
    Sister Bethany, you are so wonderful! Thank you for allowing God to speak through you!

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Sister to tell you my conversion story. What happened to me 1977 I went to my high school classmate wedding in the Catholic Church. I did not know it was a mortal sin to Miss Mass I was gone away from the church for many decades 2006 me and my wife got married in the Holy Rosary Catholic Church. After we were married I went to different churches I was gone for 13 years that was the biggest mistake of my life I've been back for 14 months now did all my confessions because I asked a priest can I get baptized again he told me no it's too confessions . I'm so excited for our new church to be built

  • @laurieuebbing3500
    @laurieuebbing3500 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    This is the year of the Nuns! I’m waiting for the Flying Nun to show up! Sister Patrille! San Jacinto! This is so great! I love these Sisters! Sister Groovy Nun is a joy to listen to....I’m biased....every nun is a blessing...

  • @donnamontanarella2403
    @donnamontanarella2403 6 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    I "happened" to stumble across this speech this morning. I am so grateful that I did! Sr. Bethany Madonna certainly has quite a gift to be able to get so many points across so beautifully. I enjoyed this so much! I love Sister's sense of humor. Thank you to all of the beautiful nuns who give and sacrifice so much for us all. I also love Sister's beautiful habit.

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I love going to mass heavy Sunday holy days of obligation for taking the Eucharist every Sunday and holy day they are going to be building a new church for us I'm excited for the new church

  • @DJK-cq2uy
    @DJK-cq2uy ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I met a person with a mega church orientation and she asked if I listened to Osteen or Meyer. I barely contained my 😃 laughter. I almost shared this video with her but remembered "Catholics don't love or pursue God... it's all about themselves. " Laughter at such nonsense!! The pot proceeded to call said kettle black. This short sermon eclipses 100% what I've ever heard from an Evangelical and I'm not even a practicing Catholic but ascribe to many of their teachings, and those of Judaism, particularly reverence for Mary and the Eucharist. Evangelicals frighten the "hell" right out of me

  • @mollyfinnmshl737
    @mollyfinnmshl737 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This is not a presentation. This is a living witness if God's love.
    Sister

  • @amakandubisi300
    @amakandubisi300 7 ปีที่แล้ว +108

    Great presentation, great sense of humor and a beautiful way of passing across a deep message in an ordinary way! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you Sister.

    • @galas455
      @galas455 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Wow Amaka, you summed that up pretty well. Kudos!

    • @melindaangeles5363
      @melindaangeles5363 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you sister foe your inspiring story!

    • @maurascanlon1599
      @maurascanlon1599 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@galas455 ¹

    • @maurascanlon1599
      @maurascanlon1599 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@melindaangeles5363 good coffession

    • @kathywiens9852
      @kathywiens9852 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Agreed! This is wonderful when as I watch it 3 years later for the first time.

  • @julietn2092
    @julietn2092 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Sr. Bethany Madonna, you are simply a blessing! May the Lord continue to use you mightily!

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Its the devil spreading this .

  • @berniegomez5595
    @berniegomez5595 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Thank you so much Sis Bethany for your spirit-filled talk! May God always bless and protect you and all Sisters of Life!

  • @akgregg1941
    @akgregg1941 6 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Wow! Sister Bethany Madonna you are an incredible presenter. I think you just became my new role model

  • @laurascott605
    @laurascott605 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Oh my! What a joy and a blessing. Thanks be to God for this!

  • @onelovemanymemories
    @onelovemanymemories 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Sr Bethany is beautiful, angelic, holy, inspirational - a class Catholic act who can deliver in 36 minutes what many priests fail to do in their lifetime. God bless this angel, reminds me of a nun who cared for me when I was 8-12 years old. Outstanding!

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Act is right nothing to do with the Spirit of reality

    • @onelovemanymemories
      @onelovemanymemories 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lilysims9073 come again?

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@onelovemanymemories quit lifting up your religious cult and go to the living God. He left you a book called the bible

    • @onelovemanymemories
      @onelovemanymemories 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@lilysims9073 go hate someplace else. All good here.

  • @phil4v8
    @phil4v8 7 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    Sister you are so blessed and you bless us...Thank you.

  • @Dr_Analise
    @Dr_Analise 5 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Jesus is my Lord!

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I really enjoy being practicing Catholic

  • @sm5098
    @sm5098 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    How simply awesome. This is courage. Inspiring sustaining like Our Lord

  • @eamonnwright5557
    @eamonnwright5557 6 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Sr. Bethany Madonna certainly grabbed the attention of my heart . No doubt Sister is in the rite vocation .

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hope the Lord grabs the attention of your heart this woman didn't die for you

  • @Veracitylean
    @Veracitylean 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I laughed, I cried, I pondered.

  • @clodaghgrant8948
    @clodaghgrant8948 6 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Amazing I didn’t want that talk to end. Amen. I feel like she set the light of the Holy Spirit on in my soul 🙏🏻

  • @unacceptablesisterpeter3431
    @unacceptablesisterpeter3431 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Showed this in prison. Friend gave it as DVD
    The men at the chapel really liked it.

  • @melindaangeles5363
    @melindaangeles5363 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Thank you sister,What a great speaker! May God be with at all times.

  • @corinmiyuki4078
    @corinmiyuki4078 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Thank you! This was wonderful to listen to!

  • @orlandozaraspe9729
    @orlandozaraspe9729 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Sister Bethany. This is my first time to watch you talk. But certainly will not be my last. I enjoyed very much listening to you and must admit that I loved all the things you said. Thank you so much and please pray for my family and me. God Bless All of Us.

  • @shonpinto1
    @shonpinto1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Watching this was such a blessing !

  • @blackwaterjim
    @blackwaterjim 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you, Sister.

  • @BlackLemonT
    @BlackLemonT 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Beautiful presentation, thanks Sister 🙏🏽🇦🇺

  • @heavensent3064
    @heavensent3064 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    thank you

  • @elissak.stewart3216
    @elissak.stewart3216 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Wow. So good.

  • @norsol7670
    @norsol7670 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    God bless you Sr Bethany

  • @ave_maria_7778
    @ave_maria_7778 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Beautiful!!

  • @SueG35
    @SueG35 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Sr Bethany Madonna is wonderful. Lovely sense of humour, great presentation, and very enlightening speech. Truly a pleasure listening to her.

  • @JesseSimpson-
    @JesseSimpson- 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    God Bless Sister . Your just amazing... Keep it coming, in the name of the father son and holy Spirit. Amen

  • @MichaelWorkPittsburgh
    @MichaelWorkPittsburgh 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you. So moving!

  • @frcgfd107
    @frcgfd107 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Thank You

  • @anitaramic4717
    @anitaramic4717 7 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    God bless world just now

    • @sbrown8937
      @sbrown8937 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      anita ramić Amen.🤗

  • @marthaarsenault9866
    @marthaarsenault9866 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Needed to hear this right now. Thank you so much!

  • @mymind101
    @mymind101 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I can't stop watcher her talks.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Youre possessed

    • @mymind101
      @mymind101 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lilysims9073 im what?

  • @AveMaria1917
    @AveMaria1917 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    St. Therese, please be a Sister and a Friend to all of the Sisters of Life now.

  • @merricafernando2943
    @merricafernando2943 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    God bless you sister ❤

  • @punkybauer1
    @punkybauer1 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Beautiful

  • @tammyvarallo
    @tammyvarallo 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    🙏🏼 so awesome

  • @Meganjolie2133
    @Meganjolie2133 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Wow beautiful speech

  • @mariacasas5971
    @mariacasas5971 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love Sr.Bethany madonna

  • @PaterDJ
    @PaterDJ 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Sr Groovy Nun that was awesome 🇳🇿

  • @ava___maria
    @ava___maria 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Remarkably profound and humorous, she is. :)

  • @brandongillis545
    @brandongillis545 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    God bless I hope this channel grows. She's so funny and in tune with the Holy Spirit.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah quite a jokster. Jesus is real and holy and not Hollywood

  • @lisamarie4sanmarcos
    @lisamarie4sanmarcos 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    THIS IS AMAZING, first two minutes laughing so hard...You are wonderful Sister. THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!!

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Youre gonna laugh yourself all the way to your catholic hell. Because the real God doesn't have this idolatrous woman speaking for him

    • @hayleymarse2853
      @hayleymarse2853 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@lilysims9073 give me three good examples of things she said that you disagree with

  • @chevy19941000
    @chevy19941000 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    May God bless you

  • @sabrinarivas8914
    @sabrinarivas8914 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you so much this was beautiful

  • @adivasicustom4240
    @adivasicustom4240 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice talk sister..

  • @oswalddsouza6596
    @oswalddsouza6596 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Beautiful sermon loved it sister

  • @marcihf9763
    @marcihf9763 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Beautiful speech.

  • @johnsonjohnson1815
    @johnsonjohnson1815 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Amen

  • @galas455
    @galas455 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I love listening to you Sr. Bethany, may I send you a poem I wrote about love?

  • @erwinsulistya1390
    @erwinsulistya1390 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Mercy.. Mercy.. Mercy..

  • @PatriciaLopez-fn8el
    @PatriciaLopez-fn8el 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Amen ❤💕😊✝️🙏

  • @stephenjohnson3163
    @stephenjohnson3163 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I wish I could like twice!

  • @lindamariapatton
    @lindamariapatton 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So beautiful!! I can feel the emotion and deep faith in the words that you speak. God bless you Sister! Our Father in Heaven has given you a great gift! (It was so good that I want to share it with everyone I’ve ever known, and even all those whom I don’t know. When you find something very special, you can’t help but share it!).

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Gods words are in His holy word not this foolishness

    • @lindamariapatton
      @lindamariapatton 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lilysims9073 Humor is not a substitute for God’s Word, but it IS a way to reach those who are otherwise unreachable. This sister has dedicated her whole life to serving God, can you say the same for yourself. Only God knows the heart.

  • @starlarice7200
    @starlarice7200 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow this is awesome.

  • @zon3665
    @zon3665 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    There's a great book by an LDS author that shows that there's perfect harmony between the prophetic statements concerning the garden of Eden being in Missouri and the Old Testament account concerning the garden of Eden. It's called Canaan, Babylon, and Egypt A Comparative Theological Analysis on Creation sold by Eborn Books.

  • @user-li2tp1dl2y
    @user-li2tp1dl2y 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Waoooow suster pandai membangkitkan audien hmmm

  • @berniemccann8935
    @berniemccann8935 24 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Why only 3K ??

  • @mollyfinnmshl737
    @mollyfinnmshl737 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    May you receive the Complete Blessing of the UnitedHearts of the Holy Trinity in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Fatherly Blessing of St. Joseph, the Anointing of St. Michael, and the Baptism of Truth. Mary, Protectress of the Faith, Defender of All Virtue, and Refuge of Holy Love, pray for us !

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Mumma love u

  • @user-lg2bx2qd9d
    @user-lg2bx2qd9d 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Our lord is mercy,but you can't see him when you are drown him out

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love u papaa is here 📍 and mummy what u decided me

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Sister what I have learned sometimes I forget. I'm not sure God talking to me or if it's mama Mary I've been reminded something I forgot to confess and I'm trying to get to sleep next confession but I make sure that the next confession bring it up it up how do you not know how to spell I have to use a microphone so when I go to confession I know what I wrote down probably going to lose my license I'm not that good Knowledge Test even though I'm age 67 on reading on the first grade reader . Ungrateful what the priest does for me can't walk very good I use a walker I have arthritis in my spinal cord I was in a very bad traffic accident I hit the medium on the freeway 55 mph my car started getting crushed I thought I was going to die but God gave me the idea turn the steering wheel away from The Medium and that's when I roll car God save my life I hear people tell me you're lucky God save my life.

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน

    That is me have not been to confession over 40 years I didn't know how to make a confession. I didn't know the words what to tell the priest. Can I learn bless me father I have sinned and I thought the priest was the one that forgive sin but I found out God the Father forgive the sin not the priest the priest is there to guide you give you pendants give you pensions. After me and my wife were married in the Catholic Church I was gone from the church 13 years going to different churches because I did not know what I believed in am I made it back to the church I'm ashamed I want to confession over that

  • @Christabbaword
    @Christabbaword 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    Praise be to my father Jesus sister of my father Jesus.
    Jesus is my father - Heavenly Jerusalem Abraham and Sarah is my family.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You dont know Jesus or you would be reading His word

  • @ivankovac9042
    @ivankovac9042 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Sister,when come Jesus to as?

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      When you read your Bible and get away from idols.

  • @denisonyemachi2015
    @denisonyemachi2015 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    She is simply awesome. Arch bishop Fulton Sheen reincarnated .

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Do the nuns all get reassigned is like the priest question mark

  • @brianpoje6829
    @brianpoje6829 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Human awesomeness, check out Fetal Micro Chimerism

  • @scottbrooks8107
    @scottbrooks8107 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    K

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fa fa u know me and ➕ my fafa loves ❤💛💙 u

  • @thienta8304
    @thienta8304 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Nhờ ơn Chúa Thánh Thần nên trong năm 2016 ở Việt Nam giống Xuất hành chương 7 câu 14 đến chương 10 câu 29 và thế giới từ 2016 đến 2023
    Rồi một đêm tôi nằm mơ thấy những nấm mồ mầu trắng ở đó có hình Thánh Giá mầu trắng chung quanh là tím than. Rồi có tiếng hét: Chết hết cả rồi ! Tôi giật mình thức giấc:12 giờ đêm ở Mỹ (1 giờ đêm). Ở Việt Nam là 15 giờ cùng ngày
    Rồi một đêm khác tôi nằm mơ thấy hai con chim nhạn bị bắn chết. Tôi nghe nó nói: Nó là anh em sinh đôi. Tôi liền nghĩ là…. rồi tận thế lúc 12 giờ đêm ở Mỹ (1 giờ đêm). Ở Việt Nam là 15 giờ cùng ngày
    Vậy…. rồi tận thế lúc 12 giờ đêm ở Mỹ (1 giờ đêm). Ở Việt Nam là 15 giờ cùng ngày

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน

    When the sisters said Philip said show me the father I'm age 67 I have a wonderful wife she's Catholic. I got teens still in school they were baptized when they were babies confirmation confirm. What that means to me when Phillip said to Jesus show me the father. Jesus Christ God the Father in the Holy Spirit what's the same person that's the trinity.

  • @ivankovac9042
    @ivankovac9042 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    ?

  • @fr.dannywilson6571
    @fr.dannywilson6571 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Nn

  • @extradelux8088
    @extradelux8088 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    She's hilarious lol

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes one big joke. Having nothing to do with the God who created heaven and earth and left His holy Word. Try reading the Bible if youre serious about knowing Him

    • @extradelux8088
      @extradelux8088 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Lily it's late, get some sleep.

    • @hayleymarse2853
      @hayleymarse2853 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@lilysims9073 you realize Catholics read the Bible… like, that’s what the entire Mass and a lot of our other prayers are based upon 😂

  • @jonathangoodwin646
    @jonathangoodwin646 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Just one thing embarrass me I'm not that bright I used to be in a special education class I'm age 67 I'm married Filipino we have three children that are teenagers High School. I was made fun of when I was in high school just because I was in Special Ed for the kids we'll make fun of me saying I'm retarded they were mean to me my mom was wonderful because I can never go to college because I was a special ed so my mom what do the school district want me to get training in a job when I got out of high school I was a custodian now I'm retired from a university 4 custodian all because of my mom's help for the longest time I hate my mom things that she would say to my grandparents but God forgive me so I have to forgive my mom I totally forgot my mom even parents make mistakes

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    I m son your father

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Pappa is dead u know me
    Fa fa 👨👦👧👩👴👵

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nu hv tb unusual kinks no Ms hbo

  • @lindamcauley4728
    @lindamcauley4728 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Oh lord. This is very loud! And not too informative.

    • @danieltafolla8817
      @danieltafolla8817 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Her words are not about the head, they’re about the heart.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@danieltafolla8817 its just catholic rubbish. Nothing to do with living God.

    • @mr.rockycarr7486
      @mr.rockycarr7486 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You are a dootle berry

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    You are the truth why lieing me

  • @shaik1238
    @shaik1238 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Every living creature possess the qualities of it's parents.
    1.Jesus was born to Mary, Mary was born to Hannah but God has no parents.
    2.The physical make up of Jesus and Mary is flesh and bones, Lord is not.
    3. People has seen Jesus and Mary, no-one has seen lord almighty.
    4. Mother Mary is dead Jesus will die
    but Lord almighty is eternal.
    5. Jesus and Mary both prayed to lord,
    The lord almighty is worthy of worship.
    All these qualities of Jesus makes him a human being ,Jesus the Son of Mary
    Not Son of God.
    Read the holy Quran a guidence and light from the lord almighty for those who fear.
    Know your lord know peace.

  • @lilysims9073
    @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Witch

  • @rudraom9
    @rudraom9 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Pop is destroyed by me

  • @scott8713
    @scott8713 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Bethany, such a great show! really amusing and entertaining. I'd think you a comedian if it wasn't for your habit. Wait! You are a nun, therefore you are a joke!
    Perhaps you can be "a disciple", and learn about the following. It's a story about kids who are abused by Nuns. Enjoy!
    Complaints of Sex Abuse by Nuns Begin to Emerge
    The pain is strong for accusers just coming to terms with what they say happened to them.
    Pamela Miller, Minneapolis Star Tribune
    June 25, 2006
    Even now, decades later, the victims' voices falter as they describe the encounters that damaged them in ways they cannot fully cast off.
    Mary Dunford tells of a molester visiting her dormitory bed when she was 15. Susan Pavlak speaks of the teacher who talked to her of love, then seduced her at 16. Siblings Christine Bertrand and Karen Britten and their childhood friend Patricia Schwartz describe how their piano teacher touched them in ways no adult should touch a child.
    In each case, the perpetrator was, or recently had been, a Roman Catholic nun.
    The five women, who said they were abused in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, are among about a dozen Minnesotans and an estimated 400 women and men nationwide who have recently come forward to talk about being sexually abused by nuns.
    Last month, Britten, 48, of Highland Park, Ill., and Schwartz, 51, of Eden Prairie, sued the Sisters of St. Francis in Rochester over alleged abuse by a nun in the 1960s. Bertrand, 51, of Sierra Madre, Calif., filed suit against the same nun last year.
    Most reports of sexual abuse by nuns have emerged well after the surge of news about abuse by Catholic priests and brothers, and there is little evidence that abuse by nuns has continued. But survivors are increasingly coming forward to seek apologies and reparations.
    St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who specializes in clergy sex-abuse cases, said he has received about a dozen plausible reports of abuse by nuns with Minnesota ties.
    The issue, Anderson said, "has only been on my radar for a few years. We're likely to see more cases in the years to come."
    Accusers interviewed for this story say they've come forward only recently because it took them years to fully remember or process the abuse and decide how to deal with it.
    Sexual abuse by nuns has gone largely unaddressed and unreported until now in part because of cultural biases about gender roles and sex, say those knowledgeable about the cases. Women often abuse in seductive ways that silence and confuse victims, Anderson said.
    And when abuse is alleged, it can be difficult for victims to assign accountability in the maze of 450 women's religious orders. The Catholic Church says it has no jurisdiction over the orders.
    But slowly, more victims are telling their stories. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says it has received as many as 400 reports nationwide of sex abuse by nuns, "which probably just scratches the surface," said executive director David Clohessy.
    Molested at boarding school
    Dunford, now 67 and living in Eagan, was molested by a nun at the Villa Maria boarding school in Old Frontenac, Minn., in the early 1950s.
    "It happened after lights-out," she said. "She'd kiss me on the mouth, then take her clothes off down to the waist and have me kiss and suck her nipples. She told me she loved me."
    The experience "has profoundly affected my life," said Dunford, who graduated in 1956, married Dan Dunford in 1959 and raised three children. She couldn't talk about it, she said, until age 50, when she realized that the abuse lay at the root of her depression and other problems.
    In 1990, she wrote a letter to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which forwarded it to the Ursuline order in Missouri. She was told that the alleged perpetrator was no longer in Minnesota and no longer worked around children, and that an investigation would take place.
    When the sister admitted to abusing Dunford, the Ursuline order paid for counseling for both Dunfords -- it later also returned her tuition -- and in 1997 arranged for the nun to apologize in person, Dunford and the Ursulines say.
    "We talked about how what she had done had damaged us," Mary Dunford said. "When we were done, she said, 'You weren't the only one hurt,' and her provincial [supervisor] turned to her and said, 'I love you and support you.' There I was, the victim, and the sympathy was for the perpetrator."
    The sister who molested Dunford continued teaching college students after the order "determined that it was a one-time offense and that there was no threat to others," said Ursuline Provincial Sister Peggy Moore.
    The nun died in 1999.
    Since she began telling her story, Dunford said, she has been contacted by more than 200 alleged victims of nun abuse.
    A trio of young students
    Bertrand and Britten claim to have been molested by Sister Benen Kent during piano lessons in the early 1960s at St. Juliana School in Chicago. In 1965, Kent was transferred to Rochester, where, Bertrand and Schwartz say, she molested them in 1967 during family visits.
    Kent, who died in 2003, "insinuated herself entirely into our families, and was a trusted friend and confidante to our parents," Bertrand said.
    Britten was the first to reveal the abuse. In 1991, she called Sister Dolore Rockers, president of the Rochester Franciscans, to tell her what had happened when she was 6: Kent "would rub my back, then sexually assault me with her fingers" at piano lessons.
    Next to reveal her story was Schwartz, who says she didn't recognize what had happened to her as sexual abuse until late 2001, when she heard Britten's story. Kent "was considered a saint in our family," Schwartz said. "I thought it was just another uncomfortable thing I had to take."
    Bertrand's memory of being molested did not fully emerge until 2002. "One morning ... my husband came up behind me and startled me, and the memory burst back," she said. "I ran to the bathroom, retching."
    The women then went to the Franciscans as a trio. Despite a flurry of calls, registered letters and meetings assuring the women that the case would be investigated, their lawsuits claim, little happened.
    "Then I got a letter saying she had died," Bertrand said. "That was the turning point. I said, 'Sue them.' "
    Bertrand said she's convinced that Kent, who worked at many schools over her career, victimized more children. She said she has received several calls from others saying they were also victimized by Kent.
    Bertrand, Britten and Schwartz are seeking at least $50,000 apiece from the Franciscans, but say their main goal is to protect others.
    The Rochester Franciscans have not responded to repeated calls and e-mails.
    Culture and circumstance
    Cases involving nuns feature complex sociological and psychological factors, said Minneapolis psychologist Gary Schoener, a national expert on clergy sexual abuse. Women are less likely to sexually abuse children, but nuns have access to children in schools, orphanages and at music lessons, he said.
    In the past, he said, "arrested social development" among some nuns, who often went directly from high school to the convent, fostered a climate where sexual touching of children and novices "occurred without anyone involved even fully understanding it was abuse."
    Cases that Anderson has seen, most involving girls, occur "not because perpetrators are lesbian, but because they have access to and power over children," he said.
    Author Ashley Hill, who lives in New England, told of being molested at age 7 in a New Hampshire school in her book "Habits of Sin," which also chronicles other women's stories. Since it was published in 2000, she said, she has heard from scores of alleged victims.
    Hill said she found "a lot of mental illness, which made for a very destructive environment."
    As a 16-year-old at a St. Paul Catholic high school, Pavlak, now 51, of West St. Paul, said she was drawn into a sexual relationship with a teacher who had been released from her vows at her own request. She said that her abuser was sexually involved with another nun and that nuns "colluded within this closed, highly sexualized system to hide relationships."
    The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the former order of the alleged perpetrator, said via spokeswoman Ann Thompson that the woman was not part of their order when the alleged abuse occurred. However, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis arranged for Pavlak to have her tuition returned, Pavlak said.
    The legal issues
    Many cases alleging abuse by nuns will never go through the legal system.
    Attorneys are less likely to take nun cases than cases involving male clergy, said Clohessy of SNAP, because "lawyers know that the deference shown to priests is even more intense with nuns."
    And most cases cannot clear Minnesota's six-year statute of limitations on lawsuits, Anderson said.
    So far, six cases with Minnesota connections have led to suits -- those of Bertrand, Britten and Schwartz; a Winona case settled in 1992 involving a woman who does not wish to go public, and two cases involving abuse at a school in Washington state run by Mankato's School Sisters of Notre Dame that were settled in 2003 and 2004.
    The lawsuits against the Rochester Franciscans seek to circumvent the statute by focusing on recent recognition of the abuse and on the order's response, Anderson said.
    The Rev. Kevin McDonough, vicar general of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said statutes of limitations serve "the important social purpose" of preventing lawsuits that can't be adequately defended. "One claim was 75 years old -- how can you find people and evidence to defend a case like that?" he asked.

    • @vanessarios3658
      @vanessarios3658 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I added a like to your post, Scott, not because I like your comment but because what you shared needs to be said. My experiences within Catholic religion has never been as the ones you have pointed out but the opposite. I'm absolutely appalled and outraged with what you have shared. I stand by religious practices because I believe there is a Sacred Creator. Yet, I've been thrown into an Inquisition because I have had the need to call upon abusive acts, some committed by people that say "have a blessed day". God is in my heart, soul, and I pray God stays in my mind too. I can't let twisted, sick, abusive minds, hence persons, take over God's house; each organic being should be treated as God's sacred temple. Nobody has a right to treat another being as an object or a piece of trash.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Absolutely right. These people are theatrical and masters of disguise. They hide behind this sick relegion and all these nuts liking this are supporting these child molesters. This has nothing to do with the real and living God of theBible. This is an evil organization professing to be godly while being used by the devil.

    • @lilysims9073
      @lilysims9073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@vanessarios3658 thats what the catholic church does and anybody supporting it is supporting pedophiles