Paedophilia is caused by divorce, says Poland's top Catholic bishop as he blames parents for not bringing up children properly

Archbishop Jozef Michalik says child abusers are 'looking for love'

Claims divorce can be as harmful to children as paedophilia

Catholic church in Poland has been hit with paedophile priest allegations



Controversy: Archbishop Jozef Michalik said that sex abuse was the result of people 'looking for love', and appeared to suggest that divorce could be just as harmful to children as paedophilia

The top Catholic bishop in Poland today blamed divorce for encouraging paedophilia by damaging young people.



Archbishop Jozef Michalik said that sex abuse was the result of people 'looking for love', and appeared to suggest that divorce could be just as harmful to children as paedophilia.



The controversial claims come as Poland's Catholic church faces mounting allegations of priests sexually abusing children.



'Many of these cases of molestation could be avoided given a healthy relationship between parents,' Archbishop Michalik told the PAP news agency.



'We often hear that this inappropriate attitude [i.e. paedophilia], or abuse, manifests itself when a child is looking for love.



'It clings, it searches. It gets lost itself and then draws another person into this.'



While condemning paedophile priests 'whom neither the Church nor anyone else can accept,' the cleric also spoke out against divorce as being harmful to children.



'How many wounds are their in children's hearts, in children's lives, when their parents go their separate ways,' he said.



'Today nobody talks about divorce doing great harm to a child. It's obvious that sex abuse does great harm, one can't forget about it, but it's not the only thing.'

In an unprecedented move, Polish church leaders apologised earlier this month for the actions of alleged paedophile priests, as prosecutors began probes against two high-profile suspects.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole who served as a papal envoy in the Dominican Republic for five years, is being investigated for allegedly having sex with teenage boys.

While condemning paedophile priests 'whom neither the Church nor anyone else can accept,' the cleric also spoke out against divorce as being harmful to children

Authorities in the Caribbean country are also investigating Wojciech Gil, a 36-year-old priest suspected of raping several young boys while serving there.



Gil told Polish media last week the allegations were fabricated, claiming that Dominican drug gangs were trying to frame him.



Despite the apology, Church leaders in Poland insist they will not be offering victims any material compensation.

