\n<\/p>\n
BUNEOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) \u2014 An Argentine judge on Friday ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse<\/a> for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in the country’s conservative north, and ordered the accused archbishop and church officials to undergo psychological treatment and training in gender discrimination.<\/p>\n The ruling in the homeland of Pope Francis<\/a> cast a spotlight on the long-standing of abuse of nuns by priests and bishops in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n Though long overshadowed by other church scandals, such abuses in religious life are increasingly being aired and denounced as a result of nuns feeling emboldened by the #MeToo movement, which has a corollary in the church, #NunsToo.<\/p>\n \u201cI conclude and affirm that the nuns have suffered acts of gender violence religiously, physically, psychologically and economically for more than 20 years,\u201d Judge Carolina C\u00e1ceres said in the ruling from Salta in northwestern Argentina.<\/p>\n She also ordered the verdict be conveyed to Francis.<\/p>\n The four accused clergy members have denied committing any violence. The archbishop’s lawyer, Eduardo Romani, dismissed Friday\u2019s ruling as baseless and vowed to appeal. Still, he said, the archbishop would abide by the order to receive treatment and anti-discrimination training through a local NGO \u201cwhether or not he agrees with its basis.\u201d<\/p>\n The nuns’ lawyer hailed the verdict as unprecedented in Argentina in recognizing the plaintiffs’ plight and the deeper problem of gender discrimination<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s shatters the \u2018status quo\u2019 because it targets a person with a great deal of power,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Viola, the lawyer.<\/p>\n