New York, USA - At a demonstration today in front of the Vatican's UN mission, representatives from over 140 religious, women's rights and human rights organizations, called for Vatican accountability in a new international campaign, including a proposed independent fact-finding mission, to fully investigate, document and end sexual violence against nuns by Catholic priests. Leaders of the campaign presented a letter with petitions addressed to His Holiness, John Paul II, in care of Archbishop Renato Raffael Martino, the Vatican's representative to the UN, who refused to meet with them.
The Call to Accountability Campaign cited detailed reports of rapes and abuse of Catholic nuns by priests that have been documented in 23 countries. Speakers stated that the abuse of nuns by priests, including rape, is particularly a problem in developing nations where the AIDS epidemic has hit hardest. In areas where there is a high rate of HIV and AIDS infection among prostitutes, nuns and young girls are seen as "safe targets" for priests' sexual activity.
A former Canadian nun, Yvonne Maes, spoke of being raped by an Irish priest while serving in Southern Africa and the church's inaction. "The Vatican claims the church is addressing the problem, but it is not.In my case, there was no investigation of my allegation or others against the same priest. There were no real consequences for him, except his receiving a suspension for a few weeks. What they did do was impose a gag order on me and all the other nuns."Maes talked of the difficulty of Catholic nuns reporting such abuse to their superiors. "It is hard to get the true story about such sexual violence into the open. The nuns fear the priests. The only way to speak out about this is to leave the church."
Leaders of the Call to Accountability Campaign demanded that the Vatican immediately take action to end sexual violence against nuns, to punish priests that have engaged in this violence, and to grant reparations to nuns who have been victimized.The Campaign called for an independent Fact-Finding Commission to fully investigate and document the violations of women's human rights.
"The Vatican has gone to great pains to maintain its status as a state in the UN," stated Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice. "Any state that would tolerate such abuse of its employees, in this case, Roman Catholic nuns, would be charged by the UN with the violation of women's rights. We hope the United Nations will look seriously at this misconduct."
In a letter received by the Campaign this week, Archbishop Martino stated that a meeting with leaders of the Campaign would not be possible. In addition to a meeting, Campaign leaders had asked Martino for knowledge of "what measures the institutional church had taken to eliminate violence against women by Catholic clergy." While saying he shared their concern about "recent allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy against women," Archbishop Martino gave no information about measures taken but asked instead for the campaign to "join me, however, in continuing to pray for our priests, that they may embrace lives of virtue."
The Vatican was formally briefed in 1995 on the facts of sexual abuse of nuns by priests but has taken no public action to end the abuse. When the National Catholic Reporter published the reports in March 2001, the Vatican's initial response was to say that the abuse was confined to "a limited geographical area." However, countries where abuse has been reported include Botswana, Burundi, Brazil, Columbia, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, United States, Zambia, Zaire, and Zimbabwe.
"Sexual harassment of women in the church has to be understood in the context of violence against women in general," stated Pauline Muchina, a theologian and member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, about Africa. "When violence against women is tolerated by a society, any sector can practice sexual harassment and get away with it. It is important to realize that many church traditions generally treat women as inferior to men. Some scriptures and cultural traditions have been interpreted in Africa and elsewhere to support an environment that condones violence against women."
"The abuse of these nuns by priests amounts to sexual servitude," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation."The hypocrisy of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is astounding. It proclaims the celibacy of the male-only priesthood while some priests abuse and rape women who have given up their lives in service to the Church. The Vatican leads the campaign against abortion and birth control under the guise that sex is only for procreation at the same time that some priests rape and impregnate women, sometimes forcing them to use contraceptives or to have abortions."
The Call to Accountability Campaign is an ad hoc coalition of religious, women's rights and human rights groups whose goal is to raise public awareness about sexual violence against women in the Catholic church and hold accountable the individuals and institutional leadership involved or complicit in this problem.
Acts of solidarity with the Call to Accountability march and demonstration in New York City are taking place today around the world and include similar presentations of letters and petitions and candlelight vigils in the following cities: Washington, D.C., USA; St. Louis, MO, USA; London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; Durban, South Africa; Mixico City, Mixico; Csrdoba, Argentina; Buenos Aires, Argentina; La Paz, Bolivia; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Managua, Nicaragua; Quezon City, Phillippines; Brussels, Belgium; San Francisco, CA, USA.