Nuns hold placards during a protest demanding justice after an alleged sexual assault of a nun by a Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, in Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala, India, Sept. 13, 2018. The placards read in Malayalam “Why is the government silent?” “Police, do justice” and “Our lives are threatened.” Credit: Newscom / Reuters / Sivaram V

Galvanized by the #MeToo movement and the sex abuse crisis commanding the attention of the Vatican, women religious are now openly discussing a subject that was once taboo — sexual harassment, abuse and rape of sisters by clergy — in congregational motherhouses and national conference offices.

Slowly, an era is ending in which Catholic women religious were silent victims of sexual abuse by priests and bishops. Consider these developments in the past year:

• In Chile, the Vatican is investigating complaints by members of a congregation of sexual abuse by priests and mistreatment by their superiors.
• In India, Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar faces charges for raping a former superior of a congregation multiple […]