(ANSA) - Rome, February 9 - Pope Francis has admitted that
there is corruption in the Vatican and said those who commit
sexual abuse have an illness in an interview with Jesuit
magazine La Civilità Cattolica.
"There is corruption in the Vatican. But I am in peace," he
said in the interview, which was published by Corriere della
Sera on Thursday.
"If there is a problem I write a note to Saint Joseph and I
put it under a statue in my room".
He also suggested some people inside the Catholic Church were
not working in the same direction as him.
"Sometimes (Saint) Peter's boat can be hit by waves and
that's nothing to be surprised by," he said.
"But the same sailors called on to row in Peter's boat can
row in the opposite direction".
When asked about cases of child sex abuse by clergymen, he
replied: "if religious are involved, it's clear that the
presence of the devil is in action to ruin the work of Jesus.
"But let's speak clearly - this is an illness," he added.
"If we are not convinced that this is an illness, it won't be
possible to resolve the problem properly".
Pope admits corruption exists in Vatican (3)
Francis tells Civiltà Cattolica sexual abuse is illness