The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, which has wreaked such havoc on the lives of so many, has focused almost exclusively on cases involving children and young men. That might be about to change. The recent arrest of a bishop in India on charges of raping a nun raises questions about the abuse of women by priests and bishops. Might it be that cases of harassment and abuse involving women and girls are taken less seriously than those involving men and boys?

It is hard to image a more serious allegation than that of the rape of a religious sister by a bishop who is a patron of her order.