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	Fury after Cardinal Links Gays to Abuse of Children By Lesley-Anne Henry Commercial Appeal April 14, 2010 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/fury-after-cardinal-links-gays-to-abuse-of-children-14766401.html Victims of Irish clerical child abuse have expressed outrage after the Vatican's Secretary of State linked the current paedophile crisis to homosexuality. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's second highest prelate after the Pope, told a news conference in Chile he believed there was no connection between celibacy and paedophilia. "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and paedophilia," he said. "But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and paedophilia. That is true. That is the problem." The Cardinal's controversial comments have sparked an angry reaction from survivors groups across the world. John Kelly, a spokesman for Survivors of Child Abuse, accused the Cardinal of looking to excuse crimes committed by members of the clergy and described the claims as unfounded and offensive. "They are looking for scapegoats. I think that's a slight on homosexuals and find it deeply offensive," Mr Kelly told the Belfast Telegraph. "The reality is there is a difference between homosexuals and paedophiles. "The Catholic Church won't face the truth. They are the authors of their own crisis and they won't accept responsibility for it. It's staring them in the face. Priests are indoctrinated at such a young age and told to divorce themselves from their family. "They have to take their frustrations both physical and sexual out on the nearest thing and for many that nearest thing was children. And that affected tens of thousands of people like me who were locked away in institutions. "Surely the frustration from celibacy is something that needs to be looked at. "They are clutching at straws and are hoping for anything that will let them off the hook."
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