Pope Benedict defrocked 400 priests in 2 years: report

By John Heilprin and Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press

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

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. Prior to 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.

more... http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/17/22340073-pope-benedict-defrocked-400-priests-in-2-years-report?lite

Surprising to me, since my impression of Pope Benedict was he wanted to downplay the severity of the problem and make the allegations go away ~ but I see this as good [if overdue] news ~

Sooz