But the Vatican has long been aware of its heterosexual equivalent — the sexual abuse of nuns by priests and bishops — and done little to stop it, an Associated Press analysis has found.
The extent of the abuse of nuns is unclear, at least outside the Vatican.
A Vatican official said it is up to local church leaders to sanction priests who sexually abuse sisters.
Demasure said many priests in Africa, for example, struggle with traditional and cultural beliefs in the importance of having children.
The Vatican is being criticized for doing little to stop the abuse of nuns by priests and bishops.
Nuns, she reported, were considered "safe" sexual partners for priests fearing infection with HIV from prostitutes or other women.
The reports were never meant to be made public, but the U.S. National Catholic Reporter put them online in 2001. »