Tackling sex abuse of nuns, one of the last Catholic taboos

It is a scandal that will be hard for the future pope to ignore as reports of abuse increase

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VATICAN CITY - Nuns being sexually assaulted by priests is one of the last Catholic taboos, but with reports of abuse rising, it is a scandal that will be difficult for the future pope to ignore.

"In the past, the nuns suffered a lot and couldn't talk about it to anyone; it was like a secret," Sister Cristina Schorck told AFP, walking through St Peter's Square with her parents.

The 41-year-old Brazilian, who is with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Rome, said Pope Francis, who died in April, opened "the first door" for women to speak out.

After an unprecedented summit at the Vatican on clerical sexual violence in 2019, a series of measures were taken, including lifting the pontifical secret on abuse and an obligation for people to report cases to their superiors.

"It's both still a taboo and something that has progressed" because "it's never been talked about as much as it is today", Sister Veronique Margron, president of the Conference of Religious of France, told AFP.