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Vatican City (AFP) – Nuns sexually assaulted by priests are 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 works with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Rome, said Pope Francis, who died last month, opened "a 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.

The slow shift in attitudes is exemplified by the case of the influential Slovenian priest and mosaics artist Marko Rupnik, accused by nuns of sexual and psychological violence against them in the early 1990s.

It was only under pressure that Francis lifted the statute of limitations in 2023 to open proceedings against him.

Laura Sgro, the Italian lawyer for five of his accusers, told AFP that nuns should be better protected "both by states and by canon law", notably by extending the statute of limitations, and said the next pope must act "immediately".

Victims' associations say the Vatican has not done enough, particularly by refusing to remove confessional secrecy.

"Things are moving forward step by step," a senior ecclesiastical official told AFP on condition of anonymity, pointing out that Francis "has denounced all forms of abuse".

Nuns in black, grey, white, beige or brown habits, in Rome to study, work or accompany pilgrims, come and go every day in St Peter's Square, far from the media hype surrounding the cardinals.

Among them, Sister Marthe, a nun from Cameroon in her forties, said she wanted the Church to "know how" to respond to "sexual (or) power abuse".

In January, Francis named a woman to head a Vatican ministry for the first time in the Church's 2,000-year history.

But many are calling for more space for women, who far outnumber men in the Church, with 559,228 female members of religious orders compared to 128,559 Catholic priests globally, according to the Vatican.

It is the legacy of a "pyramidal" and "macho" vision, said Marta Gadaleta, Secretary General of the Augustinian Servants of Jesus and Mary.

In Rome, Sister Eugenia, 67, told AFP she was convinced that "by fighting against clericalism", the idea of the clergy as an elite, "we are also fighting against all abuses".

In January, Francis himself called for the Church to "overcome" the "macho mentality", insisting that nuns should not be treated "like servants".

The International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which represents around 600,000 nuns worldwide, has taken the lead.

In 2016, it invited its members to report violence, and it also organises training sessions to "raise awareness", Secretary General Patricia Murray told AFP.

It also set up a commission in 2020 along with the Union of Superiors General (USG), which represents the leadership of male religious orders, to promote "a culture of care and protection within congregations".

The information from the training sessions needs to be passed on to local communities, Sister Margron said.

Above all, she said, "we mustn't expect everything from the Vatican", so as not to fall back into the age-old trap of "waiting for men to speak".