Fr. Lombardi: Bertone's linkage of pedophilia and homosexuality refers to cases in priesthood

Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2010 / 09:58 am

The relationship Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone spoke of in Chile this week between pedophilia and homosexuality refers to documented cases within the Church, said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi. The link was made evident in statistics released by attorney, Monsignor Charles J Scicluna a month ago.

In an interview with the Italian Bishops' Avvenire newspaper published on March 13, Msgr. Scicluna, reported that 10 percent of abuse cases involved children, while 90 percent involved adolescents.

Referring to cases of priests abusing adolescents, Msgr. Scicluna said that 60 percent involved males, while 30 percent corresponded to females.

At a press conference in Chile yesterday, the Vatican Secretary of State told reporters that according to "several experts," no correlation existed between the celibate life and pedophilia, rather the relationship was between homosexuality and pedophilia. The cardinal's comments brought on an avalanche of criticism from homosexual groups.

Speaking of the link made by Cardinal Bertone, Fr. Lombardi said, "It obviously refers to the problem of abuse by priests and not in the population in general."

Fr. Lombardi also mentioned that it is not considered within the competency of Church authorities to make general affirmations of a psychological or medical nature. He added that questions such as those related to pedophilia are sent on to "the studies of specialists and ongoing research."