Nun
A Chilean nun is suing a Catholic Church for damages she faced after being raped inside a convent - Representational image REUTERS/Max Rossi

A Chilean nun is suing a Catholic Church for damages after being raped inside a convent.

The nun has alleged that the religious order – the Archbishopric of Santiago and the Order of St Clare –pressured her to leave her convent and the Church after knowing about her pregnancy following the assault.

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Her lawyer, Camila Maturana, also said that the nun's fellow sisters blamed the victim for having been raped.

Maturana has asked the Archbishopric of Santiago "to own up to its responsibility" in the case.

"She is a nun living in a convent who was raped and instead of being protected she was blamed for what happened," Maturana said.

According to reports, the 35-year-old joined the order in 2002 when she was 20 years old and inside a convent in the capital city of Santiago.

In 2012, a group of men was allowed inside the convent for some repairs. The nun said that the workers lived in the convent, and she was appointed to provide them food.

She alleged that one of the workers raped her inside the premises, but she kept it secret from her fellow sisters "out of fear and shame, because a sense of shame came over me and didn't let me express myself," she was quoted as saying by 24 Horas.

But three months later, the sisters came to know about her pregnancy. "[I got] zero support, they told me I was to blame, that I did it on purpose.

"I told them I was innocent, but my fellow sisters were very cruel to me," the nun said, adding that she left the convent because of pressure but did not sign any papers that said she was leaving the Church.

The nun said that she took shelter at a friend's home; and after the birth of the baby, she put the child up for adoption.

In 2015, her rapist was found guilty and awarded five years of jail.

"All religious institutions in a diocese fall under the aegis of a bishop, in this case it's the Archbishop of Santiago," Maturana said, while explaining the decision to sue the Archbishopric as well as the Order of St Clare.

The nun said she felt "abandoned by my only family and my Church, which I have always defended like a lioness".

However, the order has defended itself saying the nun had left the convent "voluntarily". The Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago, Rt Rev Jorge Concha, also said that the Archbishopric was not aware about the rape and subsequent events until 27 March.