Sex Abuse of Nuns Acknowledged

Organizations representing 1.2 million nuns and priests belonging to Roman Catholic religious orders said this week that sexual abuse of nuns by some priests and missionaries is a minor issue compared to the greater “reality of the consecrated life.”

The Union of Superiors General of priestly orders and the International Union of Superiors General of orders of nuns acknowledged in a joint statement issued by the Vatican Press Office that sexual abuse exists in the Roman Catholic Church.

But, echoing a statement by Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the unions said the problem must be seen in a larger context.

“The two unions are not indifferent [to the problem] and are doing their best in a concrete manner,” their statement said. “But they underline also and with force that the reality of the consecrated life is wider, more diverse and more complex and has its precise reference to Christ and his kingdom.”

Neither statement attempted to respond to the detailed charges contained in an article in the Kansas City, Mo.-based National Catholic Reporter. The publication cited five reports written over the last seven years by senior members of women’s religious orders and an American priest.

“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 article said.

Although the reports indicated that the problem was most severe in Africa, Sister Marie McDonald of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa included the United States, Ireland and Italy in a list of 23 countries on five continents where priests are known to have demanded sexual favors from nuns.