A South African cardinal who helped elect Pope Francis has described paedophilia as a psychological illness and not ‘a criminal condition’.
The Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Fox Napier, told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody ‘who chooses to do something like that’.
Cardinal Napier, who was among the 115 cardinals in the conclave at the Vatican that elected Pope Francis earlier this week, called paedophilia a ‘psychological disorder.
And just three days into the new role, the pope and the Catholic Church are now faced with fresh child abuse controversy after the cardinal’s remarks.
Newly elected Pope Francis (right), is given a yellow Catholic faith bracelet by Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa following a meeting at the Vatican (left). The South African cardinal claimed that paedophilia is an ‘illness’
He said: ‘What do you do with disorders? You have got to try and put them right.
‘If I as a normal being choose to break the law knowing that I am breaking the law, then I think I need to be punished…
‘From my experience paedophilia is actually an illness, it is not a criminal condition, it is an illness.’
The cardinal spoke of two priests he knew who were abused as children and went on to become paedophiles.
He told the BBC: ‘Don’t tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that.
The cardinal said that in his experience, paedophilia is an illness, not a criminal condition, and the people who have been abused as children and then molest others are ‘damaged’
Pope Francis explained to journalists in an audience today that he wants a ‘church for the poor’
‘I don’t think you can really take the position and say that person deserves to be punished when he was himself damaged.’
Barbara Dorries, from the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests was abused as a child by a priest.
She told the BBC: ‘If it is a disease that’s fine, but it’s also a crime and crimes are punished, criminals are held accountable for what they did and what they do.
‘The bishops and the cardinals have gone to great lengths to cover these crimes to enable the predators to move on, to not be arrested, to keep the secrets within the church.’
The cardinal has made controversial statements before, maintaining that people should abstain from sex rather than use contraceptives, to stop spreading HIV.
He took the official Roman Catholic Stance and argued that government programmes to distribute condoms were ineffectual in stemming the spread of HIV.
Instead, he supported programmes based around abstinence.
He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
The cardinal is a prolific Twitter user, and has kept his followers up to date about the conclave and his meetings with the newly ordained pope.
He wrote: ‘Last 2 days quite unreal. Mass with Pope Francis in Santa Martha Chapel, Breakfast, Lunch & Supper with him sitting at a different table!
‘What’s it like in Conclave? Apart from NO radio or TV, NO newspapers or phone calls, Emails or SMS’s, NO Twitter or Facebook, all is normal.’
‘We chat, discuss, get to know each other. Meals are special times. We relax, share stories about our home Churches, dream about the future!’
His remarks came on the day that the pope held a private meeting with journalists.
Pope Francis has said he wants ‘a poor Church, for the poor’ following his election as head of the Catholic Church.
In a meeting with journalists, the Pontiff said he was inspired to choose the name Francis after the 12th Century saint Francis of Assisi.
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