Vatican, Jul 14 (Bhaskar News) : In a shocking revelation, Pope Fransic has said that around “2 percent of the clergy in the Catholic Church are paedophiles". It means over 8,000 out of 414,000 priests of the Church are sexually attracted to children.
Describing child abuse as "leprosy", which is rapidly infecting the Catholic Church, The Pope said the accused include "cardinals, bishops and priests," National Post reported quoting La Repubblica newspaper.
"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 has been quoted by the newspaper as saying.
He also reportedly vowed to "deal with the offenders with the severity".
But citing a Vatican spokesman, BBC reports that Pope Francis has been misquoted by the newspaper.
"There is often a studied ambiguity in Pope Francis' off-the-cuff statements. He wants to show a more compassionate attitude towards Church teaching than his predecessors, but this can sometimes cause consternation among his media advisers," says the BBC report.