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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Angela Giuffrida in Rome

Pope Francis attacks ‘insinuations’ that John Paul II prowled for underage girls

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus prayer at St Peter's Square in the Vatican
Pope Francis delivers the Angelus prayer at St Peter’s Square, in which he defended John Paul II against ‘offensive and unfounded insinuations’. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

Pope Francis has denounced “offensive and unfounded insinuations” that his predecessor John Paul II went out at night looking for underage girls.

The pope’s comments, made during his Angelus on Sunday in St Peter’s Square, were targeted at Pietro Orlandi, whose sister Emanuela vanished at the age of 15 in June 1983 while making her way home from a flute lesson in Rome.

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