At first, Mary Dunford's story sounds all too familiar: a life
shattered by pain and confusion after being sexually abused by a trusted
church figure decades ago. But Dunford, 63, of Oakdale says it
was a nun, not a priest, who abused her while she attended a Roman
Catholic boarding school as a teen-ager. Years after she brought the
abuse to the attention of the order that ran the school, she is clear
about her agenda. Dunford wants help for any victim of sexual abuse in the church, not just victims of priests. The
clergy abuse scandals that have erupted this year around the United
States have almost exclusively involved allegations against priests.
However, scattered claims of misconduct by some nuns have emerged. "It is important to say that nuns have abused children, too,'' Dunford said.
