Pope Francis Encouraged to Provide Financial Support for Abused Nuns

By Alvise Armellini

VATICAN CITY – Activists are calling on Pope Francis to establish a fund for nuns who leave religious life after experiencing abuse from priests and church officials. They highlight the need for more attention to this longstanding issue within the Catholic Church.

Globally, there are over 600,000 nuns, and incidents of exploitation and abuse have gained visibility in recent years, including features in articles from the Vatican’s official newspaper. In 2019, Pope Francis recognized the issue, referencing a specific women’s religious order that was dissolved in 2005, and acknowledged instances of "slavery" and "even sexual slavery."

Doris Reisinger, a German researcher and former nun who has suffered sexual and spiritual abuse, made this appeal during a press conference organized by an abuse accountability group. "The pope has admitted abuse of nuns but he has not acted on it," she stated, emphasizing the lack of acknowledgment regarding coerced abortions carried out by priests.

Reisinger proposed changes to church laws that would compel religious orders to allocate funds for nuns who leave their vocations. She suggested that until such provisions are established, Pope Francis should create a central fund for this purpose.

Furthermore, Reisinger urged the pope to consider establishing a fund for children fathered by priests, in order to shield them from "a life of poverty and shame," and to mandate the defrocking of priests who force abortions upon women.

She noted that nuns who take vows as teenagers often find it very challenging to reintegrate into society after renouncing their vows as adults, typically lacking professional training and having been isolated from friends and family for years. "It’s literally impossible to go out there on your own," she remarked.

Reisinger pointed out the difficulty in estimating how many nuns face sexual abuse, but referenced a 1998 survey from a U.S. university involving over 1,100 nuns. This study indicated that approximately 12.5% reported having been victims of sexual exploitation, with nearly 5% experiencing genital sexual contact and more than 6% reporting physical harassment, such as inappropriate touching.