Pope Francis says "about 2%" of
Catholic clergy are paedophiles and that he is determined to confront the
problem, in an interview with an Italian paper.
Earlier this month the Pope begged forgiveness
from victims of child abusers within the Church.
Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that
reliable data indicates that "about 2%" of clergy in the Catholic
Church are paedophiles.
The Pope said that abuse of children was like
"leprosy" infecting the Church, according to the Italian La
Repubblica newspaper.
He vowed to "confront it with the severity
it demands".
But a Vatican spokesman said the quotes in the
newspaper did not correspond to Pope Francis's exact words.
He wants to show a more compassionate attitude
towards Church teaching than his predecessors, but this can sometimes cause
consternation among his media advisers, our correspondent adds.
Sunday's edition of La Repubblica devotes its
first three pages to an account of a conversation between Pope Francis and
editor Eugenio Scalfari, which took place last Thursday.
Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a
sharp note that it was not an interview in the normal sense of the word,
although he admitted it conveyed the "sense and the spirit" of the
conversation. Mr Scalfari does not use a digital recorder, and Father Lombardi
said Pope Francis never checked the accuracy of the interview.
Until now, the Vatican has declined to quantify
the extent of clerical sexual abuse scandals in the worldwide Church.
Statistics are usually available only for
countries in the developed world. In the developing world, information is
usually only sketchy.
In the interview, Pope Francis was quoted as
saying that the 2% estimate came from advisers. It would represent around 8,000
priests out of a global number of about 414,000.
While the incidence of paedophilia as a
psychiatric disorder in the general population is not accurately known, some
estimates have put it at less than five percent.
"Among the 2% who are paedophiles are
priests, bishops and cardinals. Others, more numerous, know but keep quiet.
They punish without giving the reason,"
Pope Francis was quoted as saying.
"I find this state of affairs
intolerable," he went on.
Many Catholics feel the Church hierarchy has
not taken strict enough action against abusers.
Last year Pope Francis strengthened the
Vatican's laws against child abuse and earlier this month begged forgiveness
from the victims of sexual abuse by priests, at his first meeting with victims
since his election.
Many survivors of abuse by priests are angry at
what they see as the Vatican's failure to punish senior officials who have been
accused of covering up scandals.
Asked in the same La Repubblica interview about
the celibacy rule for priests, Pope Francis recalled that it was adopted 900
years after the death of Jesus Christ and pointed out that the Eastern Catholic
Church allows its priests to marry.
"The problem certainly exists but it is
not on a large scale. It will need time but the solutions are there and I will
find them."
Father Lombardi also denied that these were the
Pope's exact words.
Source: BBC
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