A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children.
The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked.
Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorised.
While it’s not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond.
Pope Defrocked 400 Priests In Two Years (AP)
(AFP)
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