Ex-pope Says Sexual Revolution Led to Abuse Crisis, Sparking Debate

Ex-pope Says Sexual Revolution Led to Abuse Crisis, Sparking Debate
Pope Benedict XVI finishes his last general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on Feb. 27, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
Reuters
Updated:

VATICAN CITY—Former Pope Benedict has blamed the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal on the effects of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, homosexual cliques in seminaries and what he called a general collapse in morality.

In a rare essay, he said the Church’s legal system had at times been overly protective of accused clerics, citing what he called judicial guarantees that were “extended to such an extent that convictions were hardly possible.”