The Vatican's Slow Response to Sexual Abuse of Nuns

The Vatican editor who exposed the sexual abuse of nuns – and took on the Pope

The Guardian
Angela Giuffrida


"...Scaraffia went a step further in February with a scathing account of the numerous cases of nuns being raped or abused by priests and bishops, or being forced to have an abortion or leave the church if they became pregnant as a result. A few days after the article was published, Pope Francis acknowledged the issue of widespread abuse against nuns for the first time. He said more needed to be done to confront the issue, while pointing to the action taken by Pope Benedict XVI against a French order after nuns there had been reduced to “sexual slavery” by priests.

But, so far, there has been little evidence, at least publicly, of steps being taken to address the issue. “Nothing has been done, because there is the issue of nuns being forced into abortion [by clerics who rape and impregnate them]. The priests pay for them to have an abortion – if that is further exposed it would be very bad, and so they keep silent,” she says."