Sister Marie faces 21 chargesA nun facing charges of cruelty to children at two Roman Catholic homes has begun giving evidence in her defence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Marie Docherty, also known as Sister Alphonso, but who now prefers to be known as Sister Marie, denies 21 charges of cruelty over a 15-year period at Nazareth House homes in Aberdeen and Midlothian.
Speaking in a confident but quiet voice, Sister Marie told the court how she was the twelfth of 12 children from a happy working class family background in Glasgow.
The charges
Marie Docherty faces 21 charges, all of which are denied
The charges date from 1965 to 1980
They include - forcing girls to kiss dead nuns
Punching, slapping and kicking girls
Forcing girls to wear soiled underwear
She said that in 1960, at the age of 18, she decided to join what was then the Order of the Poor Sisters of Nazareth.
She said she was trained in child care and child pyschology, but was at the bottom of the hierarchy when she began working with children as a junior sister at Nazareth House in Aberdeen.
She told the court she had taken her first set of vows - of poverty, chastity and obedience - in May 1962.
When asked by defence counsel Paul Cullen QC if she had found it easy to keep her vows, she said: "No, you may put on a habit but you are still human."
She was also asked about allegations made against her by the first witness at the trial - Helen Cusiter.
Sister Marie denied them saying she remembered Helen when she was a child, but said she was part of a different group of girls looked after by a different nun.
Sister Marie said she had very little contact with her.
The trial, which is in its fourth week, continues.
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