Nun was so drunk she fell over on child in her care

Lesbian nun was so drunk she fell over on child in her care

By Clodagh Sheehy

Monday May 25 2009

A lesbian nun, in charge of children as young as six months, was so drunk on one occasion that she fell into the playpen on top of one of the children-- the child abuse commission found. Nora Wall, who was given the name of Sister Callida in the report, often went away with her nun lover and left a 20-year-old in charge of the children. She could go for days at a time without giving any prior notice and without leaving any contact address or number.

Two different nuns instructed to keep an eye on her ended up in lesbian relationships with her, according to the report. Ms Wall was in charge of a group care home run by the Sisters of Mercy in Cappoquinn, Co Waterford, with about 16 children from the ages of six months to 16 years. Then known as Sister Dominic, she was resident manager from 1978 until the early 1990s when she was removed. The Commission concluded Ms Wall was unpredictable and irrational, bullied staff, beat the children, drank to excess and put children at risk by leaving junior staff in charge.

Details of parties held in the home, men who stayed overnight, older boys sexually abusing younger ones and being drunk in front of the children have emerged in the report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse. According to Judge Sean Ryan's inquiry report, Ms Wall regularly drank whiskey in the sitting room of the home in front of the older children.

It has also emerged that the former Mercy nun had her conviction for the rape of a child quashed in recent years. Ms Wall was convicted in 1999 for the rape of a 10-year-old girl in the home, however, this was declared a miscarriage of justice by the Court of Criminal Appeal in 2005.

The conviction was struck down by the court after it emerged that evidence had been given by a witness who was known to be unreliable. Her co-accused, Pablo McCabe, also had his conviction for the same offence overturned. Mr McCabe, a homeless man, has since died. The report found that older former residents and total strangers were allowed to stay overnight at the house even though the children were frightened by some of these visitors. One of the workers at the home told how "there was a lot of drinking going on. Parties were held in the home and former residents and student priests came and stayed overnight" A second nun, "Sister Melita", appointed to the house to report on events subsequently formed a lesbian relationship with Sister Callida and instead protected her from scrutiny, according to the report

The order then appointed a "Sister Serena" as Superior to the convent in Cappoquin, instructing her to keep an eye on Sister Callida and report back on her behaviour. This nun also became sexually involved with Sister Callida. The pair went away for holiday weekends together and would take "three or four children with us", said Sister Serena who described how they would all sleep in the same room, the two nuns in the main bed and the children in pairs in other beds in the room. Asked by the Commission about her drinking Sister Callida accepted there were times when she drank a lot but "there was never a time when I was out of order or didn't know my place or was falling all over the place".

She also insisted she only had a relationship with one of the two sisters mentioned and said when they slept in her room at the care house "we had a bed each and that was that ... but there was an occasion or two outside of the home when it wasn't appropriate".

Hard drinking nun

Hard drinking nun was well known in Cappoquin
By Marion O’Mara

IN the late 1970s a Sister of Mercy nun, given the pseudonym Sr. Callida, was appointed deputy house parent to what was known as Group Home A in St. Michael’s, Cappoquin.

When she took the job she had 17 children in her care. Though well known for her drinking and having children sleep in her bed she became Resident Manager and remained in that post until she was sacked in 1990s. The report, published by the commission to enquire into child abuse, highlights how Sr. Callida drank whiskey regularly and often in the sitting room in front of the older children. It was claimed she would be so drunk as to be falling all over the place.

A former staff member told the inquiry there were no proper routine and no timetables. Communication between management and staff was non-existent. She told how it was a frightening place to be for staff and children, and that she did not feel safe. Without giving prior notice Sr. Callida and Sr. Serena, who was in charge of another group house, regularly went away together. Sr. Callida had a little girl who slept with her at night and she would sometimes take that child or other children with her on her excursions.

“The fact that the kids slept in the bedroom, and she nearly always had a young child sleeping in the bedroom with her - it just became a habit over the years. Some of the staff used to try and get the child not to go in there but the child just always went in and she always brought her in. When she would go down to bed at night she would bring her with her,” the former staff worker said.

She recalled on one occasion Sr. Callida was so drunk she fell into the playpen on top of one of the children. There was, she added, no secret about Sr. Callida drinking. “That’s what I found very hard to understand, how everyone in the community knew what she was like and fellows knew that she was pissed going around the town and she would be out at nightclubs and different things.”

The report stated that from the time Sr. Callida became Resident Manager of the two group homes in the early 1980s, management problems arose almost immediately. One of the main problems was her lack of respect for care staff. On one occasion concern was expressed by a House Mother about two boys and a girl being alone in fields adjoining the home. Sr. Callida was asked, “What if the girl gets pregnant? She kind of laughed at me and said, ‘It wouldn’t be you that made her pregnant.’ I wasn’t getting anywhere...,” the House Mother said. There was further evidence of drinking going on in Group Home A. Parties were held in the home, and former residents and student priests stayed overnight.

Sr. Callida accepted to the Commission that there were times when she drank a lot but she denied her drinking was problematic. She accepted that some people stayed overnight in the homes but they were past pupils or her own brother. She did not accept evidence from the staff members that one past pupil, in particular, was a regular visitor and was often drunk. One of the Mercy sisters who gave evidence described Sr. Callida’s personality as one of great power that seemed to work towards negating the power of others. She was intimidating and forceful.

Following her removal in the early 1990s, Sr. Callida was told to stay away from the group home and children, in order to avoid confusion for the children. The congregation had great difficulty in getting Sr. Callida to comply with its wishes. She tended to stay around the grounds of Cappoquin, waiting for the children on their way to and from school. Sr. Callida remained defiant, and it took almost a year to resolve these problems.