Filipina nuns 'don't fall for priests'

Filipina nuns are not attracted to Catholic priests who have a tendency toward sexual abuse, said an official of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

"Asian nuns tend to put more value on the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience," said Sister Rosario Fe C. Lorenzo, executive secretary of the CBCP's mixed commission on mutual relations between bishops and religious.

"I have yet to hear of anyone in that situation who stayed in the vocation," said Lorenzo, when asked about reports that many nuns have left the nunnery after they got entangled in romantic relationships.

Almost all Filipino nuns are "ultra-conservative", said Lorenzo, adding that they pale in comparison with the report tha 40 per cent of American nuns have been abused by priests and other nuns.

Meanwhile, Boni Tago, a former Claretian priest who married a former nun, said most Filipino priests have high respect for nuns. Filipino nuns are conservative and are strict about their vows, Tago said, adding, "It is difficult to deceive Filipino nuns and this is one reason why Filipino priests got romantically involved with women outside the church."

However, Tago also said, "In 1985, I once conducted a retreat at a home for unwed mothers. One of the participants was a pregnant nun. She said the father was a priest, but did not mention his name."

The nun went back to the convent after giving birth, Tago recalled, but refused to give details. Tago and his wife, former Sister Analiza Velarde of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, have three children.