Pope Francis: U.S. was ‘stupid’ for shuffling around pedophile priests instead of firing them
Pope Francis: U.S. was ‘stupid’ for shuffling around pedophile priests instead of firing them
Pope Francis is staunchly opposed to the “stupid” practice of reassigning priests who are accused of pedophilia, preferring to drum them out of the priesthood instead.
The former archbishop of Buenos Aires — then known as Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio — favors “zero tolerance” for priestly sexual abuse and criticized previous cases in the U.S. where accused clerics were simply moved to other parishes, according to a book of conversations he had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka.
During his 14 years as archbishop, Bergoglio ordered church officials to report all allegations to the police rather than simply moving them to avoid damaging the church.
“That solution was proposed once in the United States ... switching the priests to a different parish. It is a stupid idea,” Bergoglio said. “That way, the priest just takes the problem with him wherever he goes.
Church officials were more worried about avoiding scandal than protecting the victims, the reports found. Priests were often transferred to new parishes and the allegations hushed up, a pattern that was repeated in other Catholic dioceses around the world, including the U.S.
Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles was dogged by similar allegations. The LA Times reported he “withheld information from police and allowed clerics facing prosecution to flee to foreign countries.”
Read more: www.nydailynews.com/…/pope-francis-ca…
