LONDON (ENGLAND)
BBC Radio
February 5, 2019
Pope Francis has admitted that clerics have sexually abused nuns, and in one case they were kept as sex slaves.
He said in that case his predecessor, Pope Benedict, was forced to shut down an entire congregation of nuns who were being abused by priests.
It is thought to be the first time that Pope Francis has acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by the clergy.
He said the Church was attempting to address the problem but said it was “still going on”.
Sex abuse and the Catholic Church
Pope Francis made the comments on Tuesday to reporters while on a historic tour of the Middle East.
He admitted that priests and bishops had abused nuns, but said the Church was aware of the issue and “working on it”.
“It’s a path that we’ve been on,” he said.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.