For the first time, Pope Francis publicly admits priests and bishops have sexually abused nuns


On Tuesday, Pope Francis for the first time publicly acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops.
"It's not that everyone does this, but there have been priests and bishops who have," he told reporters while flying from the United Arab Emirates to Rome. "And I think that it's continuing because it's not like once you realize it that it stops. It continues. And for some time we've been working on it. Should we do something more? Yes. Is there the will? Yes. But it's a path that we have already begun."
In November, the International Union of Superiors General said there is a "culture of silence and secrecy" that keeps nuns from reporting their abuse, and urged them to come forward and speak with their superiors and law enforcement. Last week, the Vatican newspaper's women's magazine, Women Church World, reported that nuns impregnated by priests have had abortions or given birth to children who aren't recognized by their fathers. The pontiff said that the issue is being dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and he prays that Vatican efforts to fight abuse "go forward."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 8, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - divine retribution, ChatGPT in Congress, and more
-
Titus Andronicus: a 'beautiful, blood-soaked nightmare'
The Week Recommends Max Webster's staging of Shakespeare's tragedy 'glitters with poetic richness'
-
The Alienation Effect: a 'compelling' study of the émigrés who reshaped postwar Britain
The Week Recommends Owen Hatherley's 'monumental' study is brimming with 'extraordinary revelations'
-
Pope Francis dies at 88
Speed Read 'How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants,' Pope Francis wrote in his final living message
-
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital stay
Speed Read Pope Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 14 and battled double pneumonia
-
Texas megachurch founder charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Robert Morris, former spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, is accused of sexually abusing a child
-
Pope Francis suffers setback with respiratory episodes
Speed Read The 88-year-old pope continues to battle pneumonia
-
US Christianity's long decline has halted, Pew finds
Speed Read 62% of Americans call themselves Christian, a population that has been 'relatively stable' for the past five years
-
Pope Francis hospitalized with 'complex' illness
Speed Read The Vatican says their leader has a respiratory infection, raising new concerns about his health
-
The Aga Khan, billionaire spiritual leader, dies at 88
Speed Read Prince Karim Al-Hussaini's philanthropy funded hospitals, housing and schools in some of the world's poorest places
-
Biden awards Pope Francis highest US civilian honor
Speed Read President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction