Pope Francis: ‘About 2%’ of Catholic clergy paedophiles

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that “about 2%” of Catholic clergy are pedophiles. In a report by the Italian La Repubblica newspaper, the pope said the abuse of children was like “leprosy” infecting the Catholic Church. He added that the 2% estimate came from advisers, representing around 8,000 priests out of about 414,000 worldwide. Francis was quoted as saying, “Among the 2% who are paedophiles are priests, bishops and cardinals. Others, more numerous, know but keep quiet. They punish without giving the reason… I find this state of affairs intolerable.” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi denied these were the pope’s exact words. Last year, the Vatican strengthened its laws against child abuse and asked for forgiveness from victims of sexual abuse by priests, amid criticism it was not doing enough to punish priests accused of the crimes.

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