ALL READERS,
PLEASE GO THROUGH THIS STORY SINCE IT IS VERY INSULTING FOR THE ENTIRE
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.WHAT A SHAME? XHI BABA KRISTANVANCHEM NANV VOGDDAVN
SODDLEM..
AURELIO VIEGAS
The nun who bravely took on the Church
By: Aastha Atray Banan Date: 2009-06-13 Place:Mumbai
Former nun Sister Jesme talks to Aastha Atray Banan about her controversial
autobiography Amen, in which she speaks out about sexual abuse in a convent
Sister Jesme, the author of Amen: The Autobiography of a Nun, insists the
Church asked for trouble through their repeated efforts to have her declared
insane.
Jesme, who started her religious training in June 1974 taught at two Catholic
colleges in Thrissur she was vice-principal at one and principal at another,
for three years each.
She left the Congregation of Mother of Carmel in August 2008, after applying
for voluntary retirement from service in the college.
This book, which she says she chose to write as people around me have the
right to know what happens inside the prison-like enclosures in their very
midst, was first published in Malayalam, but Jesme wanted it to be released
in English.
Although foreign and Indian TV news channels and papers chased her for the
story, she chose to pen her autobiography.
The book, which is a shocking expose of what goes on behind the four walls of a
convent, talks of nuns who come from underprivileged backgrounds being treated
as menial labourers, of the church trying to keep the SC/ST seats for anyone
who can afford to pay for them, and of rampant same sex and opposite sex
relations between nuns and priests.
The author, who alleges that she was molested by a fellow nun, now lives a
life of peace in a hamlet three hours from Calicut as a law-abiding
citizen. This book had to be written not only to prove that I was sane, but
it's also a plea for the reformation of the church, she says in an interview
over the phone.
You had been noticing the goings-on of the Church since the time you joined the
convent. How did you keep the faith?
I am different from other nuns I am not being boastful, but I was born with
many talents, so I rose above all of it. Also, suffering made me a better
person. I have suffered so much that now I have a doctorate in it (chuckles). I
can stand up against anything.
You speak of class distinctions between the poorer nuns and the richer ones.
Which side were you on?
I always helped the poorer nuns, and I was reprimanded for that. Soon, they
gave up on me because they used to see me sitting in the kitchens with the nuns
who were told to work there. But when I was told not to mingle with them, I
decided to do it even more.
You write of being sexually molested by a fellow nun, and in one instance, by a
priest. How did you cope?
I was very innocent, being only 17 when I joined the convent. At the church, we
were told to not even touch each other. The nun who molested me had 'played'
with other sisters as well. I finally rebelled and told the administration that
they either had to transfer her or me to another convent. She was finally sent
away, and all this made me stronger in my resolve. My God helped me.
But all this is very common, as I have mentioned in my book. Young sisters have
sex with people outside the church as well, as only when they address their
sexual side, can they bear to stay at the convent.
You say that the seats reserved for SC/ST are tampered with to keep those for
the management. Why is this done?
Because they can be sold to make money. These seats are later sold to the
ministers and other moneyed people.
Do you ever meet other nuns like you who want to speak out?
Yes, I get calls every day from nuns who are suffering and wish to speak out.
One nun called me the other day and told me that a priest has eloped with a
girl and even taken money from the church. They tell me that they don't have
the guts to speak out, so they hope I will speak on their behalf. They have
trust in my ability to speak the truth, and I won't disappoint them.
Extract 1 from Amen: The Autobiography of a Nun
Reaching Bangalore station, I get off the train and see the priest impatiently
waiting for me. After breakfast, despite my reluctance, he takes me to Lalbagh.
He has a hidden agenda in taking me there, I soon realise.
Pointing to each couple beneath the trees, he holds forth on the need for
physical love. Then he tells me of cases of priests and bishops who have
illicit relationships with women. Later, I am taken to his room for coffee
prepared by him.
he comes and embraces me hard, almost suffocating me. When I struggle to
escape his clutches, he squeezes my breasts and asks me to show them to him.
Refusing him angrily, I get up to leave, but he forces me to sit down, asking:
Have you seen a man? In no time, he undresses himself.
Now I am curious enough to watch! I have read in novels about this, but never
seen one with my own
