According to an Associated Press (AP) report, published on Saturday, a series of sexual assault cases within the Catholic Church in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America had been reported, but the Vatican never addressed them properly.
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The data collected by AP focused on nuns abused predominantly by priests, interviewing assault victims around the world. The report mentioned recent rape accusations against a Catholic bishop in India and scandals that have occurred over the last several decades in Uganda.
According to the reports, the nuns were used as sexual partners by priests who feared being infected with HIV from prostitutes or other women.
The Vatican, however, has never commented on measures taken to assess the scope of the problem, saying that it's up to local church leaders to sanction priests who sexually abused nuns.