Do Roman Catholics Know...

Pope Francis says one in 50

Roman Catholic priests are
pedophiles?
Pope Francis says one in 50 Roman Catholic
priests are paedophiles in interview with
I talian newspaper
Pope Francis quoted as saying figure included bishops and cardinals
He condemned child sex abuse as 'leprosy in the church', in interview
Vatican has said quotations 'didn't correspond to what pope actually said'
Published: 10:54 EST, 13 July 2014 | Updated: 11:26 EST, 13 July 2014
Pope Francis has revealed that one in every fifty Catholic priests is a paedophile, it has been
reported.
The pontiff was quoted as saying that advisors had told him that reliable figures show that
paedophilia inside the church is at the level of two per cent.
The Pope reportedly told Italian newspaper la Repubblica that abuse of children was like
'leprosy' infecting the Church.

Pope Francis has revealed that one in every fifty Catholic priests is a paedophile, it has been
reported
Francis said the corruption of a child is the terrible and unclean thing imaginable and vowed to
'confront it with the seriousness it demands'.
He said that paedophilia was unfortunately common and widespread. He said: The church is
fighting for the eradication of the habit and for education that rehabilitates. But this leprosy is
also present in our house.
He added: Many of my colleagues who are working against it tell me that paedophilia inside
the church is at the level of two per cent.

The Pope reportedly told Italian newspaper la Repubblica that abuse of children was like
'leprosy' infecting the Church
He said the figures were supposed to reassure him adding, But I have to say that they do not
reassure me by any means. On the contrary I find them deeply concerning.
'Among the two per cent who are paedophiles are priests and even bishops and cardinals, he
was reported to have said.
Many more are guilty of covering it up by keeping quiet, he said, adding, This state of affairs is
intolerable and its my intention to tackle it with the severity it deserves.'
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the newspapers overall message was
faithful to Francis' words, saying it captured the spirit of the conversation.


The Vatican has since denied that Francis had said that there were some cardinals who were
paedophiles
But he denied that Francis had said that there were some cardinals who were paedophiles.
While Francis reforms to the Vatican have been sweeping, he has been accused of not doing
enough to tackle the crisis.
Two damning reports by the UN this year have accused the Vatican of systematically adopting
policies that allowed priests to rape and molest thousands of children.
But last week Francis issued his strongest words on the subject begging for forgiveness for the
sacrilegious crimes committed by the sons and daughters of the church who have betrayed
their mission.
British abuse victim Peter Saunders, 57, who was molested by two priests, a teacher and a
member of his family from the age of 8 described the experience as life-changing.
By Hannah Roberts
Pax on both houses
The best is enemy of the good. The profoundest truths are paradoxical.
Eminent Catholic Priest-Psychologist Enthralled By Prince Of Darkness. (The
American Conservative)


Pedophiles Entitled To One Get Out Of Jail Free Card,
Says Priest
By ROD DREHER August 30, 2012
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/pedophiles-entitled-to-one-get-out-of-jail-free-card-says-priest/
The eminent Roman Catholic priest and psychologist Father Benedict Groeschel, who heads
a center that has treated (some church cynics in my NYC years said recycled) sexually screwed up
priests, said some shocking things in an interview with the National Catholic Register:
Part of your work here at Trinity has been working with priests involved in abuse, no?
A little bit, yes; but you know, in those cases, they have to leave. And some of them profoundly
profoundly penitential, horrified. People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to
a psychopath. But thats not the case. Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a
youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster 14, 16, 18 is the seducer.
Why would that be?
Well, its not so hard to see a kid looking for a father and didnt have his own and they wont be
planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but
not having intercourse or anything like that.
Its an understandable thing, and you know where you find it, among other clergy or important
people; you look at teachers, attorneys, judges, social workers. Generally, if they get involved, its
heterosexually, and if its a priest, he leaves and gets married thats the usual thing and gets a
dispensation. A lot of priests leave quickly, get civilly married and then apply for the dispensation,
which takes about three years.
But there are the relatively rare cases where a priest is involved in a homosexual way with a minor. I
think the statistic I read recently in a secular psychology review was about 2%. Would that be true of
other clergy? Would it be true of doctors, lawyers, coaches?
Heres this poor guy [Penn State football coach Jerry] Sandusky it went on for years.
Interesting: Why didnt anyone say anything? Apparently, a number of kids knew about it and didnt
break the ice. Well, you know, until recent years, people did not register in their minds that it was a
crime. It was a moral failure, scandalous; but they didnt think of it in terms of legal things.
If you go back 10 or 15 years ago with different sexual difficulties except for rape or violence it
was very rarely brought as a civil crime. Nobody thought of it that way. Sometimes statutory rape
would be but only if the girl pushed her case. Parents wouldnt touch it. People backed off, for
years, on sexual cases. Im not sure why.
I think perhaps part of the reason would be an embarrassment, that it brings the case out into the
open, and the girls name is there, or people will figure out whats there, or the youngster involved
you know, its not put in the paper, but everybody knows; theyre talking about it.
At this point, (when) any priest, any clergyman, any social worker, any teacher, any responsible
person in society would become involved in a single sexual act not necessarily intercourse
theyre done.
And Im inclined to think, on their first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was
not committing a crime.
Yes, Sandusky. That poor, poor guy, probably seduced by all those boys.
Lord have mercy, but this is an outrage. Benedict Groeschel isnt just any priest; hes an iconic cleric
among conservative/orthodox Catholics, and a star of EWTN.

References:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2690575/Pope-Francis-admits-two-cent-Roman-
Catholic-priests-paedophiles-interview-Italian-newspaper.html
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/09/eminent-catholic-priest-psychologist.html