Mystery illness hits 600 at Mexico Catholic school
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mystery illness hits 600 at Mexico Catholic school*
Hundreds of girls at a Mexican boarding school run by Roman Catholic
nuns have been hit by a mystery illness that the authorities say as
psychological abuse.
Headmistress Margie Cheong, a nun from South Korea, said it was unclear
what causes the symptoms, which include difficulty walking and nausea.
Some 600 of the 4,000 pupils at the Villa de las Ninas school outside
Mexico City have been affected.
The outbreak has prompted allegations of abuse by the nuns.
'Strict discipline'
Mother Superior Margie Cheong said she regretted not immediately
informing parents, when the first cases occurred in October.
"I couldn't advise them," she said. "This was too big, and I couldn't
tell them what the girls had because there was no diagnosis."
Mother Superior Margie Cheong
Headmistress Margie Cheong denies she mistreated her pupils
The girls are only allowed to see their families three times a year.
Some of the students have complained of strict punishments like being
made to sleep in an animal enclosure.
Some also complained about the nuns treating them with traditional Asian
medicine.
Government psychologists will interview pupils on Monday to find out
what happened at the school, which offers a free secondary education to
children from poor families.
Margie Cheong denied she had mistreated her pupils but said she would
accept responsibility if the government investigations said otherwise.
Villa de las Ninas is run by the Sisters of Mary, a religious order
founded in South Korea by US-born Aloysius Schwartz, who died in 1992.