VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail (UK)
By HANNAH ROBERTS
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.
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.’
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