ROME: Following his acknowledgement of sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis should make full use of his powers, theologist and author Doris Reisinger told dpa in Rome on Wednesday.
“If it has been admitted, there should be consequences,“ Reisinger, herself a former nun, said.
“Merely admitting that these cases exist, and it is wrong, and we have done something after all, without being specific - that feels to me, as an involved party, as though someone wanted to make fun of us,“ Reisinger said.
On Tuesday, the pope acknowledged that nuns in the church had been abused by priests and bishops, adding that in one case there had been “sexual slavery” perpetrated by clerics and the founder of a community.
Reisinger called for independent studies to investigate the issue globally, as well as compensation and support for the women involved and punishment for the offenders.
After leaving her order in 2011, Reisinger laid charges against a priest, both in Germany and Austria, alleging that he had repeatedly raped her in 2008.
The clergyman has not been convicted of a criminal offence. Reisinger revealed the details in a book published in 2016 under her maiden name of Wagner. — dpa
