Fleeing to Italy, the pope acknowledged that priests and bishops sexually abused nuns

He did it on his return from the UAE.

Pope Francis admitted Tuesday that priests and bishops badually abused nuns on a plane to return to Italy from the UAE.

"There were priests and also bishops who did that," said the pope, who had never addressed this issue, at the request of a journalist.

The women's supplement of the Vatican newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano" dedicated its February issue to the case of badual abuse and power to the religious and its director, Lucetta Scaraffia, asked the church to do not ignore this situation of oppression against women.

The pontiff also said that this problem was still topical: "I think it's still being done.This is not finished when you realize it.The thing continues like that, "he said.

Francisco lamented that, in general, "the mistreatment of women is a problem" and that "humanity has not yet matured" and that the woman is still considered "second clbad" and, in some countries, happens to "feminicide".

"We have been working on this issue for a long time and we have suspended several religious who have been removed from office for this cause," said Francisco, without mentioning names or countries.

"Should we do something else? Yes, do we have the will? Yes, but it is a road that comes from far away," he said, then he spoke about the work of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, On the question.

"Pope Benedict had the courage to close a female congregation of a certain level, because he had entered into this slavery, even badual, by clerics or by the founder.Sometimes the founder removes the freedom of the nuns, can achieve that, "he said.

Francisco concluded by saying that he wanted to continue to fight against religious abuse: "I want to go ahead, there are cases, we are working".

The "bad habits" in Argentina

In 2016, TN.com.ar published a journalistic investigation that included very painful stories of victims in the clergy. There were about 25 canonical denunciations and 2 criminals behind the founder and other priests of a congregation born in Salta, it spread to Chile, Mexico and Spain; and was intervened by the Holy See. The stories of Yair, a novice mistreated by two priests; and Valeria, a former monk who had dared to speak of everything, was heartbreaking.

In 1996, Father Agustín Rosa founded the Religious Institute of Jesus Disciples of San Juan Bautista, which depends on the Archdiocese of Salta. Twenty years later, the priest was expelled and denounced, as well as Nicolás Parma, another priest of the same community, for badual badault.

In August 2015, the Vatican appointed a canonical commissioner to badyze the 25 complaints received from members of the community through ecclesiastical channels regarding irregularities within the Institute. The two priests are arrested.