VATICAN CITY
NPR
by BILL CHAPPELL
January 17, 2014
In a period of just over two years, Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests for molesting children, according to the AP, which says it obtained a document representing a rare collection of such data.
As of Friday afternoon, NPR hasn’t independently confirmed the AP’s information, not having seen the document. Here’s a bit of context from NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli in Rome:
“If confirmed, the number of nearly 400 marks a sharp increase over the 170 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of defrocked priests.
“Before that, the Vatican only revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received.”
The reported defrockings span a period from 2011-2012, meaning they would have taken place well before the election of Pope Francis in March of 2013. The document that allegedly lists the incidents is part of the Catholic Church’s ongoing effort to cope with a legacy of child sex abuse.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.