In Southern California, where the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay victims of pedophile priests $660 million, the archdiocese is ordering nuns out of convents so the buildings can be sold to fund the out-of-court settlement.
Here in Santa Barbara, the sins of the fathers are being visited on the Sisters of Bethany. The three nuns living in a modest building on Nopal Street received an eviction notice last month ordering them to be out by Dec. 31. Earlier "would be acceptable as well," the letter said.
Among those being forced to move is Sister Angela Escalera, 69, who, diabetic and able to get around only with a walker, had hoped to live out her days in the Santa Barbara convent. "This is how the archdiocese is going about getting the money to pay off the victims," said her younger sister, Rosemary Escalera Gutierrez, 64, a former nun in the order.
-- "Nuns' Evictions Pose Perception Problem for Catholic Church," WaPo, Oct 4, 07
If you read further in the story, you see that none of the male clergy are getting evicted. Nice. After all, it's not like it was the priests or the cardinal who created this whole situation or anything.
(By the way, the nuns are now under a gag order from the church they gave their lives to. If you'd like a look at how the Los Angeles archdiocese is handling this whole thing, read "The Priest Sex-Abuse Scandal Claims Some New, Elderly Victims" in today's Slate.)
That is horrifying. I can't even come up with anything coherent to say.
Posted by: Ky Eliza | 2007.10.04 at 16:55
I read all the time and rarely comment. Thanks for posting this news, sad as it is. I don't live where this happened so it didn't make the news here. Makes my friend the ex-Catholic even gladder he left the Church.
Posted by: Grace | 2007.10.04 at 20:09
There's a book I've been meaning to pick up about how the hierarchy has failed nuns. This is a great contemporary example.
Posted by: Michelle | 2007.10.05 at 08:43
I'm moving to the L.A. archdiocese soon, and this has definitively answered the question of whether or not I would baptize my (currently hypothetical) children.
Posted by: Becky | 2007.10.05 at 15:14
This is just further evidence of how distant the Church has become from the teachings and beliefs of its founder, Jesus.
Posted by: The Diving Belle | 2007.10.09 at 07:23
Michelle, what is the book you're referring to? Sounds interesting.
Posted by: ambient | 2007.10.09 at 14:02