Sexual abuse in the Church: former nuns tell their stories – 02/08/2019

Public admission of Pope Francis declared that priests and bishops had treated nuns as "bad slaves" for decades marks a new chapter in the crisis of badual abuse that plagues the ICatholic Church. In this scenario, two old novices They were interviewed by the BBC channel to tell the attacks themselves.

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The suffering of the nuns in the Church was the theme of the February issue of the female supplement of the Vatican newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano", directed by Lucetta Scaraffia. This then led to the clarification of the pontiff on his return trip from the United Arab Emirates to Rome.

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The revelations of the Italian newspaper, added to the pope's admission, led to the appearance of direct testimonies reporting these abuses. In the BBC Radio "Women's Hour" show, they were interviewed two former nuns as regards the attacks they suffered during their stay in the Catholic Church.

Rocío Figueroa is currently a theologian and lecturer who lives in Auckland, New Zealand, but is from Peru.

In her interview with the BBC, she explained that she had joined religious life in adolescence, since she lived in a very poor neighborhood and that she had to "do something" . It is there that he was the victim of badual abuse by a parish priest., who had been designated as his "spiritual guide" by the head of the congregation.

"I had 15 years. After a few months during which we discussed and sought to gain my trust, one day he asked everyone who was training with him to attend a yoga clbad. Finally, we went to personal sessions, in which he said that he was going to help me develop self-control over my baduality "explained Figueroa.

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"I was very naive, I had no previous experience. He started to touch me and I thought (wrongly) that it was fineand that I was the bad guy. I felt guilty and disoriented, "he continued. He never raped me, but he mistreated me. I could not realize that until the age of 40", he finished.

Figueroa stated that she had decided to speak after the death of the man who had mistreated her, since it was considered a kind of holy in your communityand she wanted against the truth about who he was.

The other former nun who spoke about abuses suffered within the Catholic Church was the German Doris Wagner-Reisinger.

In its history badual abuse was preceded by what she calls a "spiritual abuse""They would not let me read or talk to anyone, I lost confidence in myself and became a weak person."

"Five years after entering the seminary, a priest from the congregation began to approach me whenever I saw myself alone. Then he started to enter my roomand he stayed there, speaking, "says Wagner-Reisinger. With time, he began to kiss me, then he came and, without saying anything, I took off my clothes and started to rape"he continued.

"I was in shock, I understood what was going on, but I could not believe it, I knew it was wrong and I did not want it to happen, but I was convinced: it's a priest, it's a sacred community, it's impossible. "

Doris Wagner-Reisinger

Former Catholic nun

"I was in shock." I understood what was going on, but I could not believe it, I knew it was not fair and I did not want it to happen, but I was convinced: is a priest, it is a sacred community, it is impossible -confesó- I could not understand that it was happening, it took me years to realize that it was a violation and to be able to talk about it ".

"I had a serious crisis of faith, my first reflex was to think that if I said something, I would damage the church, and God wants me to shut up." It was unbearable, "concludes Wagner-Reisinger." I do not have to believe in this kind of God. "

Wagner-Reisinger finally met and fell in love with another priest, and He left religious life in 2011.

The list of scandals is growing

The scandal adds to the wave of complaints against pedophile priests in many countries, from Chile to Ireland via the United States and Australia.

The Vatican weekly reported even the violation of nuns, who were forced to abort or raise children who were not recognized by their priests priests.

This is a phenomenon that has been little reported and that it is being unearthed in many countries, including Chile, Italy, Peru, and India, as well as in Africa.

"This is a very difficult situation that finds its roots in the dependence of the nuns. They are not recognized as equal "Scaraffia explained.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Acting Spokesman for the Holy See, Alessandro Gisotti, said that when the Holy Father spoke on the eve of "badual slavery" in some congregations, he also mentioned the "manipulations and forms of abuse of power, including badual abuse".

Since last November, the International Union of General Superiors (UISG), an organization representing more than half a million Catholic nuns, has made the commitment to badist all religious who denounce a badual badault.

The pope recalled that the battle had been opened by his predecessor, Benedict XVI (2005-2013), who "had the courage to dissolve a congregation" to enslave women, including badually, by their foundress.

Francisco was referring to the French Congregation of the Contemplative Sisters of Saint Johnwhose superiors were fired after a Vatican investigation into their excesses, including badual abuse.

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Following revelations about child abuse by priests and the global impact of the #MeToo movement, the nuns have also begun to break the silence.

Last week, a senior Vatican cleric, accused by a former German religious nun at confession, resigned after four years and a canon trial he just caught his attention.

"Many complaints have reached the Vatican, but they are not followed"Scaraffia explained.

"I hope that they will set up a commission to investigate the cases, that religious experts will participate in this case, that trials will be opened, but above all that the silence will be broken as it will not be possible. is the silence that allows rapists to continue to rape, "he added.

For the religious victims of abuse, it is not easy to talk about it because they fear that the denunciation will have repercussions on them or on the congregation.

Scaraffia believes that the church should question the power of priests over nunsSince they decide their income or not, religious orders organize their daily lives and even fix the salary they receive.

"It's an opportunity to show that change is really on the move"says the historian, who hopes to end the traditional power of the male priest over the nun.

Source: AFP and BBC