Pope defrocked 400 priests for molesting children, document shows

Pope defrocked 400 priests for molesting children, document shows

Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for sexually molesting children, a document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows.

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. Before that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized.

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