VATICAN CITY
New York Daily News
The spiritual leader made the comments to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in a conversation that was published Sunday. The Pope likened the issue to a leprosy within the church and would do more to stop it. The Vatican issued a statement that said the published conversation is not a verbatim transcript and denied the Pope said the transgressors also included cardinals.
BY JOEL LANDAU NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, July 13, 2014
Pope Francis said he has been told that 2% of the Catholic priests engage in pedophilia, but vowed to do what he can to eradicate the problem within the church, which he compared to leprosy.
The spiritual leader made the comments in an hour-long conversation with Eugenio Scalfari, the 90-year-old founder and former editor in chief of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which were published in a story Sunday.
In the story, the Pope is quoted as saying the corruption of a child “is the most terrible and unclean (act) imaginable” — especially when committed by someone with a family or friend connection to the children.
Francis said he has studied “reliable data” that assesses pedophilia within the church at about 2% of priests, and even bishops and cardinals. …
But a few hours after the interview was published, the newspaper reported the Vatican’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, noted that the interviewer Scalfari did not make an official recording of the conversation and the story was published using the Pope’s words from his memory. The Vatican also notes the Pope did not approve the story.
The Vatican denied the Pope said there are pedophile cardinals and that he would find a solution to the topic of celibacy.
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