Vatican under fire, as Pope's deputy links homosexuality to paedophilia

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone made the controversial comments during a visit to Chile. Bertone, who is often called the "deputy pope," said at a news conference in Santiago on Monday:

"Many psychologists and psychiatrists have shown that there is no link between celibacy and paedophilia, but many others have shown, I have recently been told, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia."

"This pathology is one that touches all categories of people, and priests to a lesser degree in percentage terms," he said. "The behaviour of the priests in this case, the negative behaviour, is very serious, is scandalous."

Gay rights activists reacted with outrage on Wednesday.

"This is a scientific absurdity. The World Health Organization calls homosexuality a variation of human behaviour. It is paedopholia that is a pathology, a crime, not homosexuality," said Italian Franco Grillini, a former parliamentarian and gay rights activist.

"Because they have their own problems with the abuse crisis and don't know how to handle it, they are trying to pass their 'cross' from their shoulders on to ours," Grillini told Reuters.