AUGUSTINE ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE ON CONSECRATED VIRGINS AND INTEGRITY OF THEIR CHASTITY IN HIS EPISTULA 111.

Abstract

This paper investigates Augustine's Letter 111 to expose the Bishop of Hippo's stand on the problem of violent sexual abuse perpetrated on Catholic nuns and its consequence on their integrity. Having presented the general historical and socio-political context in which the letter was written, I surveyed the question of violence in Augustine's epistolary in general. The analysis of the final section of the Letter 111 shows that according to Augustine, despite the defloration of their virginity, raped holy women do not lose their chastity so long as in their mind, they did not consent to lust.