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United Kingdom: Scotland
Thursday
september 28, 2000
GMT 17:58

CRUELTY NUN WALKS FREE

A NUN FOUND GUILTY OF FOUR CHARGES OF CRUELTY AGAINST YOUNG GIRLS AT
CHILDREN'S HOMES IN SCOTLAND HAS WALKED FREE from court after being
admonished.

Marie Docherty, 58, also known as Sister alphonso, stood passively in the
dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court as the sentence was handed down.

The sentence shocked women who gave evidence against the none during the
trial, some of whom wept as they left court.

The none, who committed the crimes in the 1960s and 1970s while working
at Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian, was found guilty of
four charges earlier this month.

Sheriff colin Harris deferred sentence pending reports on her medical
condition.

When the none appeared in court on Thursday, Sheriff Harris told Sister
Marie he would have considered another sentence but had taken into
account a plea in mitigatioon, her age and medical condition.

He also said a sentence of community service would not have been
appropriate.

The nun originally faced 23 charges but was found guilty of four at the
end of her sex-week trial.

Outside court, her solicitor said: Sister Marie has been cleared of
allegations of systematic child abuse made against her by the
prosecution. She has been convicted of a tiny fraction of the original
charges by a majority verdict. These are not by any stretch of the
imagination convictions for systematic child abuse."

"Over a period of 40 years sister marie has proviced outstanding care for
countless children and old people. Had it not been for this prosecution
sister marie would have continued her life of service to the elderly, the
sick and the dying. Sister Marie has been of exemplary character and the
sentence of the court amply reflects this."

'DISGUSTED' REACTION

But some of the nun's accusers expressed anger and disappointment.

A tearful Jeanette Adams, 41, whom the nun had been found guilty of
hitting with a hairbrush and force-feeding, said: "I am disgusted. I am
really totally disgusted by this. She could not care years ago when we
were there. When I met sister alphonso I lost my faith in the church."

Mrs. Adams said that, unlike other victims and alleged victims, she was
not seeking compensation and added: "All we asked for was just for her
to admit what she had done."

Agnes Fowler, 45, who told the court the nun's treatment prompted her two
suicide attempts, said: "I think it is a damn disgrace because if that
had been anyone else they would have got a custodial sentence straight
away. She could even have got a suspended sentence. Admonishing her is
calling us all liars."

Mrs. Lowler said she feared the sentence would make more children afraid
of speaking out.

She said: "It is going to stop children from saying 'This is what
happened to me'.

"She has put us through the same hell she put us through when we were
kids."

BISHOP'S STATEMENT

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen, Mario Conti, expressed sorrow for
any actions which had left a mark on the lives of vulnerable individuals.

But he said he could confidently restate that cruel and unnatural
treatment did not form part of any official policy of discipline promoted
or accepted by the sisters of nazareth or the church then or now.

He went on to refer to how child discipline practices had changed
drastically over the last 30 years and that some practices which rightly
today seemed excessive and even cruel would not necessarily have been
viewed in this light many years ago.

The bishop went on: "Nevertheless some actions are always wrong and we
would be very sorry if even one had left its mark on the lives of
vulnerable individuls, and had affected their sense of personal worth."

He also said the convictions did not invalidate the great good that was
done by the Sisters of Nazareth, including the convicted nun, in caring
competently and appropriately for many thousands of children over the
last hundred years.