Missionary Admission: Pope Accepts Bishops, Priests Sexually Abused Nuns; Mentions Case Of ‘Sexual Slavery’ Too

On 5 February (2019), Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, admitted that priests and bishops had sexually abused nuns and in one instance, sisters were also subjected to sexual slavery, reports BBC.

“There are some priests and also bishops who have done it,” said the pope while answering a question by a journalist on sexual abuse in Christendom. He noted that though this was an ‘ongoing problem’, abuse mostly took place in ‘certain congregations, predominantly new ones’.

Speaking about his predecessor Pope Benedict's efforts to curb sexual abuse, Francis added, "Pope Benedict had the courage to dissolve a female congregation which was at a certain level, because this slavery of women had entered it - slavery, even to the point of sexual slavery - on the part of clerics or the founder."

Francis also said the Church had “suspended several clerics” accused of sexual harassment and the Vatican has been “working (on the issue) for a long time.

Catholic Women Stand Against The Abuse

“If the Church continues to close its eyes to the scandal — made even worse by the fact that abuse of women brings about procreation and is, therefore, at the origin of forced abortions and children who aren't recognised by priests — the oppression of women in the Church will never change,” editor Lucetta Scaraffia of Vatican's women's magazine, Women Church World, wrote in the February supplement.

Also Read: Catholic Churches Inspire Other Organisations To File For Bankruptcy To Evade Sexual Assault Lawsuits