Saint Peter's dome (Basilica di San Pietro) Vatican City, Rome, Italy.
An Italian priest has been suspended from his parish after defending paedophilia on live television and attempting to blame victims for "seeking affection". Don Gino Flaim, of the San Giuseppe and Pio X parish in the northern Italian town of Trento, claimed on air that he "understands paedophilia" whereas "I'm not sure about homosexuality".The parish wasted little time suspending him:"Unfortunately there are children who seek affection because they don't receive it at home and I understand that some priests can give up," he said on La7 channel. "Paedophilia is a sin, and like all sins has to be accepted, also." He went on affirming that homosexuality "is a disease".
After the televised remarks, Don Gino Flaim was suspended from his role in the parish. The priest said in a statement that his words "do not represent the positions of Trento archdiocese and the general sentiment of the parish".Given the sheer number of cases and claims of pedophilia and molestation at the hands of Catholic priests, you'd think they'd have the good sense to rid themselves of people like this without hesitation. Suspending or moving them to a new area has long been part of the problem with how the church addresses sexual abuse of its members. Recent estimates show the Catholic church has paid roughly $3 billion in sex abuse claims from 2004-2013. Aside from being obviously morally corrupt, attitudes like this have allowed priests to abuse thousands of victims over decades or even centuries. If Pope Francis wants real change, he'll rid the church of priests like this without hesitation.