Editing Sisters of Mercy (section)

==Controversies==
{{Main|Abuse scandal in the Sisters of Mercy|Magdalene laundries in Ireland}}

In 1869, Sister of Mercy, [[Susan Saurin]], brought suit against her superiors accusing them of bullying, assault and imprisonment. She sought £5,000 in damages. The "Great Convent Case" opened at [[Westminster Hall]] with heightened press interest given Victorian antipathy to all things Catholic.<ref name=Arnstein>Arnstein, Walter L., ''Protestant Versus Catholic in Mid-Victorian England'' (London: University of Missouri Press, 1982), pp. 3-4 {{ISBN|978-0826203540}}</ref> The [[Daily Telegraph]] made a special publication on the "Inner Life of the Hull Nunnery Exposed" to cover the trial.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=SAURIN|first1=Susannah Mary|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/503732394|title=The Inner Life of the Hull Nunnery exposed ... being a full report of the great trial, Saurin v. Starr and another ... reprinted from the London Daily Telegraph.|last2=STAR|first2=Mary Ann|date=1869|location=London, Manchester [printed|language=en|oclc=503732394}}</ref> Saurin won her case and was awarded fifty pounds in damages.<ref name="herald">{{Cite web|date=2019-05-30|title=The 'great convent scandal' that transfixed Victorian England|url=https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-great-convent-scandal-that-transfixed-victorian-england/|access-date=2020-08-27|website=Catholic Herald|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In May 2009, the institute was among four religious congregations for women that came under scrutiny and criticism for their part in running Magdalene laundries in past decades, where women were brought by the state, or their families, for being unmarried and pregnant, or for other reasons. The report found that girls supervised by congregations or orders, chiefly the Sisters of Mercy, suffered much less sexual abuse, but instead endured frequent assaults and humiliation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/20/irish-catholic-schools-child-abuse-claims|title='Endemic' rape and abuse of Irish children in Catholic care, inquiry finds|first1=Henry|last1=McDonald|date=20 May 2009|access-date=27 September 2017|website=Theguardian.com}}</ref>

The Mercy Sisters have noted they were not compensated for caring for the women and that the laundries were not profit-making ventures. "We acknowledge fully the limitations of the service we provided for these women when compared with today's standards and sincerely wish that it could have been different. We trust that the implications of the changed context are understood by the wider society."<ref name=Stockman/>

In 2011, as part of their Sculpture Trail initiative, the [[Ennis]] Tidy Towns Committee erected a statue at the site of the old St. Xavier's Primary School, now the [[Clare Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/claremuseum/about/background.htm|title=Clare Museum: Background|website=Clarelibrary.ie|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> Created by Barry Wrafter, it was commissioned to celebrate the work of the Sisters of Mercy since their coming to the town in 1854.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ennistidytowns.com/sisters-of-mercy-sculpture-arthurs-row-ennis/|title=Sisters Of Mercy Sculpture Arthurs Row Ennis |website=Ennistidytowns.com|access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref>