Carrie Eileen @Carrie_Eileen_ Twitter profile | Pikagi

Pikagi

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

1,851

Followers

229

Following

7

Media

364

Statuses

Former non-final-professed Roman Catholic religious Sister. Now a happy wife & homeschooling mom of six. Seeker of theosis. ☦️

Joined March 2022

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

Pinned Tweet

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Some have claimed that my difficulties in the convent were simply my own personal flaws, rather than anything wrong with the convent itself. That maybe *I* couldn’t hack it, but that’s my own fault & doesn’t mean the convent itself had any problems. A thread. 🧵

33

13

246

Last Seen Profiles

@AJArabic

@pP4wRWJquSev5xa

@krispiests

@GarrettMilbourn

@FlightGlobal

@PanoramaSwap

@sherajat00

@inamhi_ec

@TDT_2024

@PaperCrane111

@stwmaniax

@Serbanismo

@bokeplokalmalam

@surya_roshni

@MirelaRahneva

@Ask1124OBU

@SHELL_SUB_CHAN

@bokeplokalmalam

@rodrigoweeh

@dikpielpe

@luvrnotafitr

@Themegrounds

@DzairLense

@Espace_Hamelin

@HrckaVladislav

@mrshotwife05

@princeleewilson

@stwbinorrr

@TheDumbestKaiju

@suchim_7

@bokeplokalmalam

@foxe

@SonicThePro72yt

@Camp_Lemonnier

@cukienaknikmati

@adafruit

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

16 years ago today I left the convent, after having spent over 5 years there, utterly miserable in a dysfunctional environment. The anniversary of what I call “the first day of the rest of my life.” It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but one of the best. Glory to God!

Tweet media one

127

88

4K

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

In case anyone is curious, I’ve posted a bunch of videos about it on TikTok over the years. I don’t post there much anymore, & I privated some videos until I have the chance to go through them all again, so they’re not ALL there right now, but a lot still are.

7

1

213

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

But I talk about it because it wasn’t necessary for me to endure spiritual abuse in a convent at all. I don’t want it to happen to other women. Discerners should be equipped with knowledge of red flags in communities, but communities should also hold themselves accountable./end

10

5

126

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

A few things: I don’t mention my former community bc it’s not about the community per se. It’s been 16 years, maybe they’ve reformed since then. I don’t have contact with them & I’ve forgiven them & moved on with my life. “Then why do you talk about it?!”

13

11

119

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

If you think sex abuse cases are still brushed under the rug, imagine how many MORE cases of spiritual abuse aren’t even ACKNOWLEDGED. We should acknowledge it happens. I’m not the only one, by far. For many, a few simple fixes & accountability would be enough.

1

6

114

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@TFMulliganEsq That’s not my story, though. It would have been a success if I hadn’t been in a dysfunctional, spiritually abusive convent. I never should have been able to enter in the first place, & I certainly never should have stayed 5 years. The people guiding my discernment failed me.

2

1

111

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Laypeople are usually completely oblivious to what can go on within a convent’s closed doors. The truth of the matter is that MANY convents are in need of reform. I don’t advocate getting rid of asceticism. I advocate getting rid of spiritual ABUSE. They are not the same.

1

4

108

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

I know “religious trauma” might seem trendy, but I assure you that the emotional, spiritual, psychological & even PHYSICAL consequences are very real. For a while, I couldn’t even see the NAME of my former superior w/o having a panic attack. That’s how terrified of her I was.

3

3

91

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Sometimes they simply realized they didn’t have a vocation to religious life. …and sometimes they are leaving a toxic, unhealthy atmosphere. And many women are afraid to talk about their experiences for fear of “making the Church look bad.”

1

3

88

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

I wanted to acknowledge & say hello to any new followers! 👋 But also be sure to let you know that I am absolutely a nobody. I don’t really have anything of substance to share, & I have wildly varied opinions that you will probably vehemently disagree with at some point.

10

0

86

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

That is the vocation directress’s JOB. The ppl guiding me in my discernment failed me. I think they missed it, in large part, bc they think these vocations are desperately needed. So they were willing to overlook these glaring signs that I was not ready to enter a convent.

1

6

87

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

There are countless examples of spiritual abuse that I experienced in the convent; some I’ve shared publicly and many more that I haven’t. I won’t list them all here, but I hope you can at least see how “obedience” in religious life can be manipulated by Superiors.

1

2

82

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

…even when, for example, they promote bizarre & “unapproved” Marian apparitions or devotions. (No Catholic is obligated to believe even the “approved” ones, by the way, but that’s a nuanced different discussion…) You are encouraged to see your Superior’s will as God’s will.

2

3

81

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

But some communities, even if they get lots of postulants, also get lots of Sisters leaving later on. That’s something to pause & consider. The ideal is entering a community & then persevering. This SHOULD happen a good deal more often than not.

1

3

76

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Many people just don’t have experience with religious life. They don’t know how strictly a Sister’s freedom can be restricted. Yes, Catholic religious take a vow of obedience, along with poverty & chastity (& sometimes others in some communities). But this can be abused.

1

2

76

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Most bishops are completely unaware of what religious life entails. When they’re asked to host a new community in their diocese, they’re thrilled bc VOCATIONS! But the nitty gritty of the life is pretty unknown to them. It’s how a lot of unhealthy stuff goes under the radar.

1

3

76

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

I get that Catholics like to promote vocations in many different ways & want to make the life seem appealing to young people. But look at the retention rate in some of these communities. It’s normal, even expected, for some women to discern out, yes. That’s not a bad thing!

1

3

73

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@CrysostomJ56691 Interestingly, we got reprimanded if we ever appeared less-than-cheerful in front of members of the public who visited us. So many people always commented about how “the Sisters are always smiling! They’re always happy!” No. No we weren’t.

1

2

71

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

If the ratio is disproportionate, that’s a clue something may need to change. It’s not about those women being “tempted by the world” or “throwing away their vocation.” It’s not automatically that women “can’t handle” the asceticism. Sure, maybe sometimes it is.

1

4

71

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@pluant Yes, and many have continued that on post-Vatican II. Many people think those problems were done away with after Vat 2, and the “mass exodus” event shortly thereafter. Goodness, no. It’s still alive and well in MANY communities.

0

1

70

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

9 months

@PillarCatholic Thank you for reporting on this. As a former Roman Catholic Sister myself, I’ve seen issues like these FAR too often, & the response being weak or nonexistent. God bless these Sisters for being brave enough to speak up about it. This is more common than people want to admit.

3

2

69

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

But it is a lot more common than laypeople want to believe. Even potentially within your favorite community. I don’t want communities to be disbanded or suppressed. But I do want them to take some honest introspection and reform the practices that need to be reformed.

1

3

71

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

1) Because laypeople have NO idea. As someone in discernment, I had no idea this was possible. I had no idea the red flags to look out for. I trusted the people guiding me, and ultimately, that was a mistake. I don’t want other women to have to go through what I went thekugh.

2

1

68

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Women who leave can often feel pressure to minimize the dysfunctional goings on in their former communities, or feel embarrassed and ashamed to speak on it at all. NOT every woman who leaves has a bad experience, to be sure. And NOT every community is dysfunctional.

1

2

69

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

2) I hope communities that might recognize dysfunctional, unhealthy practices in their convents would be moved to reform them, for the sake of the Sisters AND the women who discern with them. It’s win/win. There is no downside. Spiritual abuse is NOT the same as asceticism.

1

0

68

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

Oh! Important addendum: some of the people guiding me in my discernment were parish priests. If you’re a diocesan priest, you NEED to be aware of red flags. Young women will often go to you first when they’re discerning. You need to be wise to what can go on w/in communities.

1

0

67

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Yes, I am a flawed individual, even more so as a timid & easily-influenced 18 year old kid who had just graduated high school. I was NOT ready to enter religious life, even though I believed I was. There were plenty of signs I needed more time to mature & grow as a person.

1

2

68

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

Often the Sister isn’t quite sure where the limits lie, except in cases of sin. (“You can refuse to be obedient if your Superior tells you to rob a bank” is a common example.) So you are encouraged, & feel bound under pain of sin, to obey your Superior in all things…

1

2

65

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@RobertMSterling I haven’t written it all out yet, but I hope to someday, God-willing.

4

0

63

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@twoshipsatnight You get it. ❤️ It’s quite an unusual “club” to be in, but there is such strong solidarity with those of us who have been through it!

2

0

62

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

27 days

I get why people would be inclined to think this. After all, I am a very flawed human being & I was NOT perfect in the convent. My flaws were very apparent. But I hope you might be open to hearing why it wasn’t simply that. There were a lot of dysfunctional things going on.

2

1

62

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@ElCaminoGreg @TFMulliganEsq The list is too long for these character limits! 😅 Fear-based control & manipulation, along with plenty of red flags in regard to believing in, & requiring belief in, certain unapproved “visions” & “visionaries” & other fringe beliefs that are not required or are warned against.

1

0

59

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

I somewhat recently even wrote a Substack post defending asceticism. As an Eastern Christian homeschooling mom of 6, my life is arguably more ascetic NOW than it was in the convent. Asceticism, traditional practices, etc., are NOT the problem. Abuse of them is.

3

1

53

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@Pilgrim2027 You get it! Probably a lot more than most.

2

0

52

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

3) I hope Church authorities would begin to realize that convents also need accountability and in many cases, that accountability is sorely lacking and has been for decades. I realize some trad-leaning ppl distrust Church authorities &

1

0

48

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@CrysostomJ56691 Because I like to share my story so that 1) ppl who went through it, too, know they aren’t alone, 2) help bring awareness so that convents that need to reform will reform, 3) discerners can know that not every community is as great as it might seem & to know red flags.

2

0

48

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

The realities I experienced are hard for people to hear, but alas, they are true. If we want to be “perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless” (which is something we pray in the Divine Liturgy) then we need to acknowledge that spiritual abuse can happen, & do what it takes to heal it.

1

1

46

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

2 months

@emzanotti @SimchaFisher So many “clues” like that in the whole story; that’s a good one. People are like “how can you blindly take the side of the wife!” Well … because I have a brain, and I see the clues. I could be wrong, but … it doesn’t look good, even WITH the biased guy telling the story.

1

0

46

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

25 days

All this car seats talk makes me think of the immense effort—and then triumph!—of being able to fit three car seats across the third row of our Nissan Quest, only to have to get an entirely new vehicle when we found out it was twins. 🙃

@snopes

snopes.com

26 days

✅ Yes, Sen. JD Vance said that "car seat rules" have led to Americans having fewer children. We found the original video:

Tweet media one

515

66

531

2

1

42

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

4 months

@emzanotti Their reaction to this whole debacle is WILD.

1

1

39

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

suspect they only want to dismantle tradition. Maybe some are like that, & if so, it’s unfortunate. But please realize that “reform” is not a dirty word. If you knew me, you’d know I’m not a “leftCath” bent on making all religious communities progressive.

2

1

40

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

19 days

Sorry for any typos, I REALLY hate that I can’t edit them. 😑 Hopefully you catch my drift despite them!

2

0

37

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@THE_ANDREW_D Leaving was blind faith & trust in God, something I’ve always struggled with my whole life (and continue to!). It was terrifying, but God was with me through it all. ❤️

0

1

33

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

28 days

Because they DON’T care, simple as that. A few outliers may. But most have CLEARLY & consistently shown us who they are, so why are we desperately trying to convince ourselves it isn’t true? It looks bad because it is bad.

@FrHilderbrand

Fr. Ryan Hilderbrand

29 days

How can one look at @VaticanNews 's continued use of a rapist's art and think "Rome is taking sexual abuse & abuse of power seriously" or "Church authorities care about victims"? @paoloruffini2 defended this art in a despicable way and still hasn't restored justice.

Tweet media one

14

28

177

0

2

31

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@meme_elizabethe My mom drove 13 hours on short notice to come pick me up. I thank God for her; she always let me know that I could always come home if I wanted. To the point that the Sisters intercepted her mail & tried to get me to go against her.

1

0

31

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@EileenGumbert For sure, Sisters do amazing work. Not every community is dysfunctional, & the ones that aren’t deserve praise! I talk about my experience in the hope that others who lived it will know they’re not alone, & to encourage REAL reform in the convents that need it. ❤️

3

2

31

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@BlackestofLies It was agonizing. I’m so glad it was revealed to you early on! So much reform is needed for so many communities. It’s a mess, and it wasn’t just my former community!

2

0

29

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@MariaEyre1873 It’s a big part of why I don’t think any convent should take someone as young as 18, & I stand by that. College doesn’t need to be required, but I do think life experience should be.

0

0

27

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@LonghornSloth @JSprockerman @ElCaminoGreg @TFMulliganEsq It was to the point that the Superior had her own “visionary” friend who would receive “messages” from God regarding the Superior, or the community. She had the so-called “odor of sanctity”…except one of the Sisters (who later left too) found a hidden bottle of rose perfume.

1

0

24

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@DrNoBusiness That’s why I talk about it. I hope to show people it’s possible to experience trauma from spiritual abuse in a Christian context and still remain a devout follower of Christ. ❤️

1

0

23

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

26 days

@StanKowalski57 No, I’m a happily married wife & mom to 6 kids. This is my vocation & I’m so grateful to God for it. ❤️

0

0

22

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@Burek_dealer1 I spent over 4 years talking about the specifics on TikTok, that’s how 280k+ people know me. It’s not my whole personality, but it might help people identify who I am. 🤷‍♀️

0

0

22

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

3 months

-In 2012, priest finds child SA on computer, knowing it belonged to a past pastor -Orders a deacon to destroy the hard drive with a blow torch -Doesn’t report what he found for SIX years -Original priest resigns in 2021 over a different issue -Has never been convicted of a crime

@mfjlewis

Mike Lewis

3 months

Two of the most horrifying sentences I have ever read (cause/effect): “Father Barry said at the time, he did not realize the repercussions of not revealing what they had found." Cutcher was never charged with a crime.

2

1

15

1

0

20

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

25 days

The amount of research and trial and error I had to do in order to make them fit three across…it was quite a task and I was SO proud of myself when I finally managed to make it work!

5

0

21

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

2 months

Blessed feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos to those who celebrate today! ❤️☦️

Tweet media one

1

0

18

@Carrie_Eileen_

Carrie Eileen

@Carrie_Eileen_

20 days

@JohnOArc1 In my own experience, no, I haven’t found that to be the case. I know that it’s not uncommon, either, though.

1

0

18