South African Cardinal Says Pedophilia Is Not A Crime, Quickly Issues Apology Admitting He "Botched Interview"

Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier spoke with the BBC Radio 5 and said he believed pedophilia was an illness, not a crime.

"From my experience, pedophilia is actually an illness. It's not a criminal condition, it's an illness," the cardinal told BBC Radio 5. He also talked about two priests he knew who were sexually abused as children and then became pedophiles themselves.

The cardinal believed the two men he described needed treatment, not punishment. Victim's rights groups were outraged and demanded the Cardinal apologize for his words.

Cardinal Napier released a statement apologizing for having offended anyone. He again mentioned the two pedophile priests saying, "That's when the wheels came off. I now stand accused of saying that pedophilia is a mental condition or disorder and not a crime."

In his apology the Cardinal says, "I apologize sincerely and unreservedly to all who were offended by the botched interview, and especially to those who have been abused and need every help and support that the Church can give."

He added, "Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime among other things because of the damage it does to the child. In that concern, I include the abused who has become an abuser."

Cardinal Napier was one of the 115 cardinals to elect Pope Francis I as the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church is full of scandal involving the sexual abuse of children. In June of 2012, Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty of endangering children by helping to cover up sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese of Los Angles released a 12,000-page file regarding sexual abuse cases as a result of a 2007 lawsuit.

Among the accused clerics was Rev. Jose' I. Ugarte who was accused by a doctor of drugging and raping a young boy in a hotel.

The new Pope Cardinal Napier helped to elect will have his hands full trying to deal with the epidemic of child abuse running rapid through the Roman Catholic Church. The real quest is: Can the abuse actually be stopped and what kind of changes will the church have to make in order to end the abuse?