Nun defends thesis on sexual abuse of nuns by priests

Sister Makamatine Lembo, of Togo, successfully defends her dissertation on sexual abuse of nuns by priests at a at a Vatican-sanctioned university.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Sept. 26, 2019

Togolese Sister Makamatine Lembo, center, poses for a photo after she defended her dissertation on the sexual abuse of religious sisters by priests, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Sister Lembo was awarded summa cum laude and was praised by her examiners for her courage in examining such a taboo subject.

Gregorio Borgia Associated Press
Togolese Sister Makamatine Lembo, right, is congratulated after she defended her dissertation on the sexual abuse of religious sisters by priests, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Sister Lembo was awarded summa cum laude, and was praised by her examiners for her courage in examining such a taboo subject.

Gregorio Borgia Associated Press
Togolese Sister Makamatine Lembo is photographed after she successfully defended her dissertation on the sexual abuse of religious sisters by priests, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Sister Lembo was awarded summa cum laude, and was praised by her examiners for her courage in examining such a taboo subject.

Gregorio Borgia Associated Press
Sister Brenda Dolphin, left, and thesis adviser Karlijn Demasure, center, congratulate Sister Makamatine Lembo after she successfully defended her dissertation on the sexual abuse of religious sisters by priests, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. Togolese Sister Lembo was awarded summa cum laude, and was praised by her examiners for her courage in examining such a taboo subject.

Gregorio Borgia Associated Press
Nuns sit at a cafe in Rome, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. The Vatican’s women’s magazine is denouncing the sexual abuse of nuns by priests – and the resulting “scandal” of religious sisters having abortions or giving birth to children who are then not recognized by their fathers. The February issue of “Women Church World,” a monthly magazine distributed alongside the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, was published Feb. 1.

Gregorio Borgia Associated Press