About two percent of clergy in the Catholic Church, including priests, bishops and cardinals, are pedophiles, according to a report Sunday quoting Pope Francis.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica's Eugenio Scalfari, Francis was said to have revealed that based on "reliable data" presented to him by advisers, two percent of the members of the Church have committed child abuse.

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"Among the 2 percent pedophiles are priests, bishops and cardinals. Others, more numerous, know but keep quiet. They punish without giving the reason," Pope Francis was quoted as saying in the report.

The data, if verified, would translate to over 8, 000 people of the Catholic Church. There at least 410,000 Catholic priests worldwide according to Vatican numbers.

However, the accuracy of the statement has been compromised, with some reports questioning the credibility of the interview.

Some Vatican officials questioned the veracity of Scalfari's interview stating the reporter does not record his conversations with Pope Francis.

Citing Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, News. va, the Vatican's official news source, said Scalfari does not transcribe his interviews word-for-word and quotes the pontiff from memory alone. The Vatican's news source also said Pope Francis does not review the interview results before they get published.

The statement came a week after the pope met with victims of clerical abuse, the first since he assumed the papacy in March 2013.

"Before God and his people I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you. And I humbly ask forgiveness," he said in a Vatican mass.

Francis drew flak over the alleged failure of the Church to address the issues of the global pedophilia scandal.

Even the committees of United Nations condemned the Church's "code of silence" on the issue, which it said have contributed to the continuous violations against the children.

TagsPope Francis, pedophiles