Catholic Church defrocks priest convicted of child sex abuse

A German diocese on Wednesday announced that the catholic priest convicted of child sexual abuse has been defrocked after an order by Pope Francis.
It said in a statement in Aachen, Germany that the 58-year-old priest, who had worked in the western city of Aachen, was sentenced to six years in jail in 2015 for taking advantage of minors in his care.
It said the priest who abused his godchild and the child’s younger brother had not carried out priestly duties since 2010.
The priest in Aachen had also faced charges stemming from time he spent working in South Africa, but the charges were dropped.
Nonetheless, a family there did receive compensation payments from the church.
The diocese, however, said the order from the Pope meant that he was permanently barred from priesthood and would no longer receive pay from the church.
The pope has repeatedly stated his zero tolerance policy for child abuse, a problem that has plagued the church for decades.
This past weekend, Francis explicitly restated his power to remove bishops who are found guilty of such crimes.
dpa/NAN.