Catholic Nun Photo: shutterstock
Some senior nuns are abusing their power, including by denying sisters healthcare and warm clothes, a report in a Catholic journal said on Friday.
The Jesuit review Civilta Cattolica said that the problem of abuse of power by senior nuns “has not so far had sufficient attention”.
The abuse “mostly does not take the form of sexual violence and does not concern minors,” the journal noted.
Some mother superiors cling to power for decades or bring members of their own family to live in the convent to be “hosted and cared for for free”.
These relatives can end up being buried with members of the convent.
One mother superior “took her mother into the sisters’ community until her death, allowing her to share the community space for about 20 years.”
“Every summer she left the community to take her mother on holiday,” the article said.
Being a superior, in some cases, “seems to guarantee other exclusive privileges, such as taking…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
