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Paedophilia is an illness NOT a crime, says cardinal just days after papal conclave
- Claimed people abused as youngsters who then become paedophiles 'not criminally responsible'
- Says paedophilia 'is an illness, not a criminal condition'
- Says those people do not deserve to be punished because they are damaged
- Pope Francis said that he wants a 'church for the poor'
By Anna Edwards
PUBLISHED: 04:02 EST, 16 March 2013 | UPDATED: 06:20 EST, 16 March 2013
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.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2NhiJJPNA
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