All four must undergo psychological treatment and training in gender discrimination, Judge Carolina Cáceres decreed.

Cáceres's breakthrough ruling found the accused had abused 20 cloistered of Discalced Carmelite nuns for over twenty years.

Although the archbishop and officials denied committing any violence, Cáceres saw their actions differently.

A group of the nuns had brought the case against the men to court.

The nuns cited a range of mistreatment. This included verbal insults, threats, humiliation and physical — although not sexual — assault.

They had told the court of instances of Cargnello grabbing, slapping and shaking women.

In one case, they said Cargnello squeezed a nun's lips to silence her. In another case, he pounced on a nun, striking her as he struggled to snatch a camera from her hands.

They also accused Cargello of borrowing their money without paying them back.

The judge described the instances as "physical and psychological gender violence".

"I conclude and affirm that the nuns have suffered acts of gender violence religiously, physically, psychologically and economically for more than 20 years" she said.

She ordered the verdict be conveyed to Pope Francis, himself an Argentinian.

Longstanding abuse

The Argentinian judge's ruling casts a spotlight on Catholic priests' and bishops' long-standing abuse of nuns.

The nuns' lawyer hailed the verdict as unprecedented in Argentina. It recognises the plaintiffs' plight and the deeper problem of gender discrimination.

"It shatters the ‘status quo' because it targets a person with a great deal of power" the nuns' lawyer says.

While other church scandals generally take centre stage, gender abuse cases are not isolated.

Bringing such cases into the open is attributed to nuns feeling emboldened by the #MeToo movement and its Church corollary, #NunsToo.

Appeal likely

The archbishop's lawyer claims the ruling is baseless and is planning to appeal.

Nonetheless, the archbishop will abide by the order to receive treatment and anti-discrimination training through a local NGO, his lawyer says.

He will do it "whether or not he agrees with its basis".

Hidden problem

In recent years, several prominent cases have emerged involving nuns, laywomen and consecrated women denouncing priests for their spiritual, psychological, physical or sexual abuse.

Their complaints have been largely unheard.

The Vatican has been deaf. Argentina's rigid all-male clerical hierarchy didn't seem to offer an option.

The nuns turned instead to the secular justice system.

A similar dynamic occurred when the clergy abuse of minors scandal first erupted decades ago. Then, as now, victims turned to secular courts because of inaction by church authorities.

Source

• APNews

"There are some priests and also bishops who have done it," the pontiff said last week in response to a journalist's question during his return flight from the United Arab Emirates.

Francis's admission followed an outcry last week in the Vatican's women's magazine over the sexual abuse of nuns by priests.

The magazine went on to say this has led to religious sisters feeling forced to have abortions or raise children not recognised by their fathers.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which is the largest US organization of women religious, thanked Francis for shedding "light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public".

It called for measures to address the issue, saying it's time to rethink the Church's male-led hierarchy.

The LCWR also made a statement asking for reporting guidelines to be established so abused nuns "are met with compassion and are offered safety".

News media reports and the #MeToo movement have brought the issue of sexual violence against nuns to the fore, which for women religious has morphed into a new hashtag: #Nunstoo has been trending in recent days.

The LCWR says it is grateful Francis has "shed light on a reality that has been largely hidden from the public and we believe his honesty is an important and significant step forward".

It also acknowledged some religious congregations have been part of the problem as they didn't support sisters in coming forward to report abuse in the past.

"We regret that when we did know of instances of abuse, we did not speak out more forcefully for an end to the culture of secrecy and cover-ups within the Catholic Church that have discouraged victims from coming forward," the LCWR says.

Not speaking up is seen to have been a reflection of the church's overreaching concern with protecting its reputation from scandal, as well as the fear of reprisals internally for speaking out.

Source

• News.com.au
• Varsity Maine
• Angelus
• ARS-dkprogressImage: