YouTube/Newworldnews

A 31-year-old El Salvador nun assigned in Rome provided what seems to be the first sex scandal under the 10-month-old reign of Pope Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

The nun kept her pregnancy secret and had to call an ambulance on Wednesday due to severe stomach pain. She even denied she was pregnant when admitted to the hospital, saying, "It's not possible. I'm a nun," the Italian press quoted her.

A few hours after her denial, she gave birth to a 5.5 lb baby boy whom she even named Francesco, after the papal name of the current pontiff.

Counting back the months, she appears to have become pregnant during the first few months of Pope Francis's term. The Brisbane Times theorised she could have become pregnant when she went to El Salvador for a visit.

Because of the loose habit of nuns, she was able to hide her pregnancy, thus the other sisters in her convent were not unaware she was carrying a child, although they noticed that she had gained weight and became withdrawn the past few months.

Delio Lucarelli, the bishop of Rieti where the convent is located, said the nun would be forced to leave the Little Disciples of Jesus convent and lead a secular life with her infant, away from religious institutions because of the embarrassment her pregnancy caused.

Simone Petrangeli, mayor of Rieti, and the local diocese offered the nun help. Don Fabrizio Borrello, the local pastor, even believed the version of the nun that she was not aware that she was pregnant. Is it another case of virgin birth?

So far, there is no reaction yet from Pope Francis, but given the importance that the pontiff gives to love over tradition, he probably would not condemn the birth of a child, but would uphold the bishop of Rieti's decision to have her give priority to raising her child over being a nun.

The basis of such an expected response from the pope is last week's event when he baptised babies at the Sistine Chapel, including a baby born of parents not married in the Catholic Church, and even allowing the lactating mothers to breastfeed their babies on holy grounds.

In the movie world, there had been storylines about nuns giving birth such as the one in this scene.

YouTube/eletricalen

In 1985, the film Agnes of God that starred Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly, also tacked a similar theme. Here is the trailer of that landmark and award-winning movie.

YouTube/billboardnumber1

RELATED STORIES