Vatican turns to science over paedophile priests problem.

(From Agence France Presse)

Scientists commissioned by the Vatican to study the problem of paedophile priests have sharply criticised the "zero tolerance" policy adopted by the Catholic Church in the United States following a wave of recent child sex abuse scandals involving clergy there.

Priests defrocked for sex abuse of minors posed a danger to society as well as to themselves and should be retained within the apparatus of the Church, which otherwise would be seen as "abdicating its responsibility", the study said.

The rebuke was contained in a study by eight leading experts in paedophilia -- all non-Catholic -- which was shown to journalists at …