The founder and editorial board of the Vatican Women's Magazine resign after reporting sexual abuse to nuns

The founder and editorial board of the Vatican Women's Magazine resigned after what they called the Vatican's campaign to discredit them and put them forward. "under the direct control of men", something that was highlighted after denounce the badual abuse of nuns by priests.

The editorial board ofWomen's World Church", monthly publication published with the Vatican newspaper, The Osservatore Romano, announced his decision in the editorial that will be published in the April 1 issue and in an open letter to Pope Francis that was handed to the agency on Tuesday The badociated press.

"We throw the sponge, because we feel surrounded by a climate of distrust and a progressive delegitimation.", wrote the founder of the publication, Lucetta Scaraffia, in the editorial, which was printed last week but has not yet been published.

Scaraffia told AP that the decision had been made after the new editor-in-chief of L & # 39; OsservatoreAndrea Monda told her earlier this year that she would be editor of the publication. Monda reconsidered his decision after the threat of resignation from the editorial board and after the Catholic weeklies who distribute translations of Women's World Church in France, Spain and Latin America, they announced that they would stop doing so, he added.

"After the attempts to put us under his control, there have been indirect attempts to delegitimize us," he added, citing other women who joined Osservatore. "with an editorial line opposite to ours"

The effect, he added, was "orconfess our words by delegitimizing us in the context of the Holy See's communications"

The Vatican has not commented so far.

Scaraffia launched the monthly supplement in 2012 and oversaw its growth to become an independent Vatican publication that gives voice to women, made by women and addresses issues that are of interest to the whole institution. Women's World Church He possessed editorial independence from the Osservatore, although this work was published under his auspices.

In its last editorial, the committee stated that "the conditions do not exist anymore"continue to work with L & # 39; Osservatore with reference to its initiatives with other collaborators.

"They return to the practice of selecting women who ensure obedience"denounced the text." They come back to the clerical self-reference and they abandon the & parrhesia & # 39; (the freedom to speak freely) that Pope Francis frequently seeks. "

The resignations are the latest stir in the Vatican's communications department following the surprise resignation of the spokesman of the Holy See at the end of December and his right arm for strategic differences with Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the communication dicastery.

Scaraffia, history teacher and journalist, she was perhaps the most prominent woman of the Vatican, a well-known feminist who, nevertheless, corresponded to the official doctrine. This does not mean that his frequent complaint that half of the humanity responsible for transmitting the faith to future generations is not embarrbaded is not embarrbading for the men responsible for it. Catholic Church.