Foxy,

They are not the social norm, which is a good thing, and not only is it a good thing but a very good thing.

Why would you think that a small percentage was the norm?

Paul,

To which Order did Sr. Mary belong?

//To which Order did Sr. Mary belong?//

Hopefully the Leaping Order of St. Beryl. Best nuns ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiO_9UIUx7M

Hi Issy,

I'm not sure which order good old Sr. Mary belonged, it must have been the 'Order of Discipline'. The good sister was not only a world authority on all things ecclesiastical, she was also very good at dishing out corporal punishment, often administering it with gusto using her thick leather belt to a certain truculent 8 year old boy.

She did exist in real life, I didn't make her up. The old gal must have been 80 if she was a day, that would make her 140 now. Irish to her boot straps, and a hater of protestants, intolerant as they come. I surmise she was probably sent to Australia from her native Ireland by the teaching order when she was a young girl maybe around 1900 to help fill a shortage. Something she had never gotten over. Her loss of identity had made her a very bitter person, who was down on life. By today's standards she would not be allowed with a mile of children, but those times were different. As an 8 year old I both hated and feared her, but with hindsight I now pity the life she had. Mary was just as much a victim of Catholicism as anyone.

I wonder what she is up to theses days. Belting little children with her trusty strap down in purgatory I suppose.

Paul,

Frankly, I don't believe you, Sr. Mary looks like a typical badly made up character by an anti-Catholic bigot.
The alleged rantings against Protestants would have been stopped by the school authorities as many Anglicans, who were not well off, sent their children to Catholic schools, furthermore, other children would have had one Protestant parent, Anglican or otherwise.

In my own family, my maternal grandfather was an Anglican and grandmother was Catholic and as was customary, at the time, the sons followed the father's religion and the daughters followed the mother.
Consequently, I had cousins of both persuasions and Baptisms, Confirmations and Marriages were attended by all, a character, such as your "Sr. Mary" would have got short shift.
Her alleged rantings would have been contrary to Rome's teachings anyhow.

Just to get the history right, Henry the VIII was and remained a Catholic to the end of his days, excommunicated but still a Catholic.
His Church Of England was a Catholic Church until after his death and he'd have given Protestants a hard, but short, time.

Why on earth would anyone wonder if CWA women were gay, or if any of them knew gay people! Nothing is sacred to some people.