(NCC NEWS) — Pope Francis said on Tuesday that the Catholic Church had faced a lasting problem of sexual abuse of nuns by priests, and even bishops. This is the first time the Pope has publicly acknowledged the issue.
Catholic nuns have accused clerics of sexual abuse in recent years worldwide. A Vatican magazine last week mentioned nuns having abortions or giving birth to the children of priests. Despite long-lasting controversy, Francis has never made comment on the issue – until now. Francis was asked to comment during a news conference aboard the papal plane returning to Rome from his trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Pope Francis noted that a congregation of nuns was shut down in 2005 under Pope Benedict due to abuse. He added that this is a problem the Vatican has been working on.
“I think it’s still taking place because it’s not as though the moment you become aware of something, it goes away, the thing continues. And we’ve been working on this for some time,” said Pope Francis.
