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00:58Subtitles by ZDF, 2020
01:01Many viewers contacted us after our recent Mona Lisa broadcast about sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
01:09We were particularly shocked by the reports of two other victims of such attacks, perpetrated by women, by nuns.
01:18They dedicate their lives to God and to serving humanity. Their commandments are poverty, celibacy, and obedience. A life in
01:25perfect chastity.
01:26This is unimaginable, even inhuman, for many of us. And apparently, this way of life is also unthinkable for some nuns.
01:35the impossibility.
01:36Yes, it can lead to perversion. It's not just Catholic priests who have abused children.
01:42Nuns are also alleged to have sexually abused their charges in homes.
01:47Angelika Fell and Ute Leibel met a man and a woman who tell their story for the first time in Mona Lisa,
01:54what was done to them in orphanages run by nuns.
01:59That's just how it is. You only ever hear about the priests. But the nuns were just as bad.
02:06Margarete Böttcher knows this from her own terrible experience.
02:10She herself was sexually abused as a child for years. By a nun, according to the 60-year-old.
02:17It first started on bath day. She always had a washcloth before, but not afterwards.
02:25more.
02:27That made me a little suspicious, and I thought, well, then she also went down with her hands.
02:35and washed myself downstairs.
02:36And afterwards with the fingers, it always went like some people crawl.
02:41Margarete was five years old when she was placed in a Catholic children's home by social services due to neglect.
02:48Three years later, she recounts, the abuse began with a nun from the Berlin Hedwig Sisters.
02:53First on the weekly bath day, then also in the bedroom.
02:57Just before I fell asleep, she came to my bed and told me to be quiet.
03:07so that the others don't wake up.
03:09She touched me first, from top to bottom.
03:14And then she hugged me close and then she took my hand so that I would touch hers too.
03:19Split.
03:21Each time, Margarete says, she was punished the following day by her sister with blows to her bare bottom.
03:27She believes it's for intimidation purposes.
03:29She couldn't truly confide in anyone, not even her confessor.
03:33Then, of course, we had to present what we had done.
03:38And I always said I had committed an act of impurity, even though I hadn't.
03:44And then he says to me, "Then offer ten Our Fathers and ten kisses to you, Mary."
03:50And that was it.
03:53Sexual abuse by nuns is not uncommon, says Professor Manfred Kappeler, one of the leading experts on residential care.
04:01He has researched the topic his entire life, speaking with many former children in care, including about their abuse by nuns.
04:08Sexual violence and sexual abuse perpetrated by women is easily overlooked.
04:17Actually, this was always known, and all parties involved were always aware of it.
04:25It just hasn't been discussed publicly.
04:29Shame and guilt are particularly intense among victims who are abused by women, says Kappeler.
04:34It took 50 years until Margarete finally spoke publicly about it for the first time in ML Mona Lisa.
04:42She was only able to confide in her husband after twelve years of marriage.
04:46That's simply unbelievable.
04:48And the details kept coming from my wife, with her breaking down, even though we had been together for a while.
04:59We've known each other for 24 years.
05:01Hubertus Groppe also feels like a victim of sexual assault by a nun.
05:07To this day, the 58-year-old is tormented by memories of his childhood in the home, especially the weekly bath day.
05:14We were all always afraid, and then when we bathed, we were soaped up with bar soap, and then
05:21submerged in water.
05:25And then, and now you can get out, we went down into the testicles with the washcloth and then
05:31We always screamed.
05:34Hubertus, born out of wedlock in 1952, was placed as an infant in a children's home run by the Order of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in
05:41Paderborn.
05:43What was done to him repeatedly on bath day haunted him for the rest of his life.
05:48Whatever you do, don't look at the genitals; that was a very deep, bad memory for me.
05:56The way they looked at you, that was my reminder of what had been done to you.
06:03For many years, Hubertus, as an adult, was unable to accept sexuality.
06:07This was a consequence of the physical and mental abuse, which was apparently commonplace in other homes at that time.
06:15That the nuns washed and showered children and teenagers even well into puberty.
06:25They touched you physically in all sensitive areas.
06:32There are constant reports of shame, especially among boys, towards such female educators.
06:39Physical contact is still difficult for Margarete, even today.
06:44Since a complete breakdown, she has been working through her trauma with therapeutic help.
06:50M.L. Mona Lisa confronts the management of the Hedwig Sisters with Margarete Böttcher's statements.
06:56The order then launched an internal investigation.
06:59The Hedwig sisters refuse to speak on camera.
07:02A press release followed on Friday.
07:04The order states, quote.
07:07The religious order took note of the accusation with great concern.
07:12and immediately began to investigate the matter.
07:16Hubertus Groppe, he too wants clarification at last.
07:20He has been trying to do this since the 1980s.
07:22So far, all in vain, he says.
07:24M.L. Mona Lisa also asks about this.
07:27Nobody wants to be in front of the camera here either.
07:29In a letter, the Order of the Sisters of Mercy expresses its regret.
07:32Admittedly, the circumstances in which the children were housed there at the time were, but, quote.
07:37Mr. Groppe was neither mistreated nor sexually or otherwise abused.
07:44At their plenary assembly at the end of February, the German bishops decided
07:47intensively involved with sexual abuse by priests.
07:51And the nuns?
07:53For her, it was almost exclusively a male phenomenon.
07:56The German Bishops' Conference writes to us.
07:59Quote.
08:00Possible sexual abuse by nuns
08:03Therefore, it has not yet been considered by the bishops.
08:07If such a thing exists, it would have to be dealt with.
08:11This now appears to be urgently needed.
08:17And those are just two cases.
08:19But we know of others.
08:20There are probably enough facts on the table.
08:23Now the bishops must react.
08:25If you would like to learn more about this topic or are affected
08:28and don't know who to turn to,
08:31You can find the relevant information at monalisa.zdf.de
08:34and also the detailed interview with Prof. Manfred Kappeler.
08:39The storm in Europe.
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