Activists Allege Abuse by Nuns and Push for Right to Sue

“Nuns abuse children, too.”

Those were the allegations that members of Road to Recovery wrote on poster boards in red stenciling and draped across their bodies.

As they stood on the front steps of Judson Memorial Church, they also handed out flyers bearing the same message to people leaving that facility. The protesters chose that church on Washington Square South for its proximity to Notre Dame School, 13 blocks away. At that school, Road to Recovery member Cecilia Springer, then known as Sister Mary Grace, alleges she was sexually abused as a high school sophomore in 1946.

“Nuns abuse children, too. And I’m one of those victims.” said Springer, 84, a retired nun.