Pope Francis Says 2% of the Catholic Clergy are Pedophiles

                                                                         

                                                          

Pope Francis revealed that 2% of the Catholic clergy, including priests, bishops and cardinals, are pedophiles.

Francis made the statement in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published Sunday. He said his colleagues presented him with “reliable data" that indicates pedophilia within the Church is at 2%. 

"This finding should reassure me, but I must tell you that I do not [find it] reassuring at all," said Francis, according to a Google translation. "I find this situation intolerable and I intend to tackle it with the seriousness it requires."

The pope also called pedophilia a "leprosy" infecting the Church.

There are currently 414,313 Catholic priests worldwide, according to the latest Vatican statistics. Of that total, there would be close to 8,300 pedophiles currently in the Church.

Francis held his first meeting last week with victims who were sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy. Six victims from Ireland, Britain and Germany met the pope at the Vatican, after attending his private morning mass.

"Before God and his people, I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you. And I humbly ask forgiveness," Francis said at the time. "I beg your forgiveness, too, for the sins of omission on the part of church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves."

In April, he said the Church would impose sanctions on priests who committed sexual abuse, calling the acts "evil." The pope added that these priests had committed "moral damage."

Last year, Francis set up a Church committee to help victims of sexual abuse committed by priests, and also strengthened Vatican laws against child abuse.

Percentages vary, but some studies estimate that less than 5% of people in the general population are pedophiles.

Early on Sunday, Francis led tens of thousands of people at St. Peter's Square in a silent prayer for an end to hostilities in the Middle East.