|
Vatican Admits Catholic Nuns Sexually Harassed
THE VATICAN, March 21 (IslamOnline) - The Vatican has acknowledged the sexual abuse of women by priests but belittled the issue saying it was done by a minority and on a limited scale, the Vatican said on its website.
In a declaration posted March 20th on the Vatican website by spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the supreme Catholic authority said: "The problem is known, and is restricted to a geographically limited area."
"The Holy See is dealing with the question in collaboration with the bishops, with the Union of Superiors General [USG] and with the International Union of Superiors General [USIG]. The work has two sides, the formation of persons and the solution of single cases," the Vatican said.
The statement did not specify what geographic area is involved nor what was being done to deal with the problem, but the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), a U.S. based publication, has brought the issue into the limelight with extensive coverage. The NCR said it would bring more facts to the open in its coming March 30th issue.
Countering the revelations, the Church said, "Certain negative situations cannot cause to be forgotten the frequently heroic fidelity of the great majority of male religious, female religious and priests."
NCR said several reports written by senior members of women's religious orders, and by an American priest, asserted that sexual abuse of nuns by priests, including rape, is a serious problem, especially in Africa and other parts of the developing world.
The reports allege that some Catholic clergy exploit their financial and spiritual authority to gain sexual favors from religious women, many of whom, in developing countries, are culturally conditioned to be subservient to men.
"The reports, five in all, indicate that in Africa particularly, a continent ravaged by HIV and AIDS, young nuns are sometimes seen as safe targets of sexual activity. In a few extreme instances, according to the documentation, priests have impregnated nuns and then encouraged them to have abortions," NCR said.
The publication reported that although the problem has not been aired in public, the reports have been discussed in councils of religious women and men, and in the Vatican.
NCR said though statistics related to sexual abuse of religious women are unavailable, most religious leaders interviewed by NCR say the frequency and consistency of the reports of sexual abuse point to a problem that needs to be addressed.
|
