Pope Francis acknowledged that priests and bishops have sexually assaulted the monks, following a journalist's question on the plane taking the Pope from a trip to the United Arab Emirates.
"There were also priests and bishops who did so," said the Pope, who did not address the issue directly.
According to him, this phenomenon is present everywhere but is more present in "some new congregations in some regions". "We have worked on these files for a long time and have suspended some clerics," said Pope Francis without mentioning names or places.
He then added that something should be done: "Do we have the will to do it? Yes, "the Pope insisted.
Among other things, he honored his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, "having the courage to condemn a congregation where women were sex slaves."
More and more the issue of sexual assault on nuns is appearing in the media. In India, a nun accused a Catholic bishop of raping him systematically.
"Women's abuse is a problem," Pope Francis said, linking mostly to the fact that women are "seen as second-class people and the consequences of sexual assaults go to suicide in some countries."
Source: RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg
