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There is no statistical connection between child abuse and celibacy, England's top Catholic cleric said Friday, ahead of the publication of a papal letter to the Irish faithful over an abuse scandal.
Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, told BBC television that although "scandalous", cases of child abuse by clergy were no more frequent than in wider society.
"The vast majority of the abuse of children happens within their families where people are not celibate," he said.
"There is no statistical connection between the abuse of minors and a celibate way of life."
Nichols said the abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy appeared widespread because 40 years of revelations were coming out all at once.
"The level of abuse in the Church is probably lower than in society as a whole. What is scandalous in the Church is that the level of trust that has been broken is very profound," he added.
Two reports last year detailing widespread child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland and decades of attempts to cover it up caused a major scandal in the largely Catholic country and beyond.
Pope Benedict XVI has written a pastoral letter to Irish believers which is due to be published on Saturday.
Abuse victims have said they hope the pontiff will apologise and admit the church had tried to protect paedophile priests.
