SOUTH AFRICA
RTE News
Survivors of sexual abuse have reacted angrily to comments by a Roman Catholic cardinal that paedophilia is an illness and not a criminal condition.
Archbishop of Durban in South Africa Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier made the remarks in a BBC interview.
Cardinal Fox Napier took part in the election of Pope Francis.
He was asked what the new pontiff could do to repair damage to the Catholic Church’s reputation caused by the way it dealt with sexual abuse by priests.
He said paedophilia was an illness not a criminal condition and questioned whether someone with such a psychological defect automatically deserved to be punished.
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