Catholic priest Pennsylvania scandal

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ConstantLearner said:
The empirical research does not show that gay or bisexual men are any more likely than heterosexual men to molest children. This is not to argue that homosexual and bisexual men never molest children. But there is no scientific basis for asserting that they are more likely than heterosexual men to do so. And, as explained above, many child molesters cannot be characterized as having an adult sexual orientation at all; they are fixated on children.

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

It also talks about the difference between pedophilia and child molestation.
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This is an article from psychology, in which pedophilia is a term that does not include attraction to teenagers. Also, the study is taken from society at large, which does not account for the skewing that a specific group must deal with. Especially when homosexual relationships could not be public and open, entering the priesthood for the purpose of homosexual relationships could easily skew the data, and I believe was one of the causes of the child abuse crisis. Then, as with other careers, the access to victims attracted some who saw the priesthood as a means to an end. The same thing happened to the scouts, and it still happens in teaching. This will always be a problem for the Church.
 
This article claims child abuse among priests is no worse than among any other group:

www.newsweek.com

Priests Commit No More Abuse Than Other Males

The priesthood is being cast as the refuge of pederasts. In fact, priests seem to abuse children at the same rate as everyone else.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com

I, myself, do not know. I just know it happens in every group. But yes, because of the Church’s position in society and large numbers of adherents, I, too, believe it will always be a problem for them.
 
I understand what you are saying. One thing I would encourage you to do: “I believe in one Holy and Apostolic Church” does not mean an institution. The Catholic (means universal) Church is the original of Our Lord to St. Peter and the successors, the appointed priests that have consecrated their human life to becoming the means by which Our Blessed Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Eucharistic Jesus, comes to us in His Totality. There is no other way that Our Lord said it should be done. And with that in mind, separate the sinfulness of humans and know, without doubt, that a priest could be guilty of horrendous sin and Our Lord does not let that sinfulness interfere with His way of entering our body and soul at the Mass. The Holy Mass is “the Church” and all who believe. Its not a business or whatever falls under the description of condoning sin. So when you say the Creed you don’t have to be concerned that the Catholic Church has failed. It never will because Jesus said “The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”.
What we have had happen is a degenerative process take place in selecting men that profess to have dedicated their lives and behavior to conform and perform to the most dedicated life to God. I am not preaching to you, please know, I am saying to you how I manage to reconcile the horrible damage to children by those who scandalized and scarred them. IMO this has been hidden and thereby encouraged the evil to continue; even to the point of selecting individuals who have revealed their sexual attractions to be a lifestyle. All of the characteristics of sinning against the Commandments and teachings of the Church have been excused and defended which is further sinning. This is a long bit of conversation - one sided- and I sincerely hope I made it worthwhile. May I add to your post that you are brave and right to correct those folks that said “let it go”. Jesus does not want us to be lukewarm and I hope you continue to hold to your Faith!
 
There actually are a number of pedophiles who will abuse either gender. There have been cases of abusers, including priests, who abused both genders.

Not every pedophile falls in this category, but a significant number do.
 
Interesting. I learn new things every day. It’s hard sometimes to see outside my own experience but I’m willing to accept that my experience is not always the norm.
 
I don’t think anyone is attempting to defend child molestation by priests based on statistics.

Child molestation is indefensible no matter who does it.

The Church needs to do a better job of screening candidates for the seminary, and it needs to stop covering up even one incident of abuse.
 
somecanadian said:
I think it’s safe to presume the abuse problem in the Church, specifically, might have been a homosexual pedophile problem.
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Delete the word “pedophile” and you’re closer! The majority of BOYS molested were adolescents, not toddlers. We’re in homosexual territory here, not pedophiles. If you’re going after a 12 year-old boy as a priest, you’re not a pedophile. Which is NOT to say there weren’t ALSO pedophiles. There were. And yes, some were into females. There is enough perversion to go around, for sure, in all its forms.

My guess is that it was a lot like bank robbery. What’s the quotation? “That’s where the money is.” And whatever sort of pervert you are, the church is “where the victims are.” All laid out in schools, orphanages, and church clubs. And as a priest you have a built-in cover. Very convenient!

Again, I don’t think we need to blame ALL homosexuals, priests, etc. But we certainly have to blame those who did the actions, those who turned a blind eye, and those who were in a position to put a stop to their activities and refused.

I know that when I got a B.Ed. there was a specific class that addressed the issue of why you wanted to become a teacher. And they explicitly laid out the fact that maybe you wanted access to pretty girls or handsome boys, or little kids–they whole gamut. They didn’t say you shouldn’t be a teacher. After all, maybe you just like to interact with little girls and have no intention of harming them. Could be. But it did put everyone on alert that not everyone had the highest of motives and that we all needed to keep an eye on our fellow teachers for deviant behavior.

A final thought: This goes for the military, universities, corporations, and the church as well. Instead of circling the wagons and trying to fend off criticism of those bad apples who are caught, why on earth wouldn’t you want to create as much distance between yourself (as an institution) and the bad apples? Why wouldn’t you say–if you were in the army–“Our code of honor forbids such activities, and forbids tolerating such activities by others. If you are credibly accused, we will immediately remove you from your job and have an expert third-party investigate the allegations. If you are found guilty, we will prosecute you. If we can’t prove your guilt in a court of law but it seems reasonable that you are involved in such activities, we will immediately give you a dishonorable discharge.” You know what? That would end sexual harassment overnight. Same if an equivalent announcement was made in the church. Or anywhere. Why oh why do these institutions defend the accused instead of distancing themselves??? They’re certainly NOT protecting the institution they belong to.
 
pnewton said:
Especially when homosexual relationships could not be public and open, entering the priesthood for the purpose of homosexual relationships could easily skew the data, and I believe was one of the causes of the child abuse crisis.
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Let’s face it, if you were a homosexual man, the priesthood was an attractive option. As I’ve said many times elsewhere, I’ve known a fairly large number (20?) of homosexual men who were in the seminary and dropped out.
 
Erikaspirit16 said:
A final thought: This goes for the military, universities, corporations, and the church as well. Instead of circling the wagons and trying to fend off criticism of those bad apples who are caught, why on earth wouldn’t you want to create as much distance between yourself (as an institution) and the bad apples? Why wouldn’t you say–if you were in the army–“Our code of honor forbids such activities, and forbids tolerating such activities by others. If you are credibly accused, we will immediately remove you from your job and have an expert third-party investigate the allegations. If you are found guilty, we will prosecute you. If we can’t prove your guilt in a court of law but it seems reasonable that you are involved in such activities, we will immediately give you a dishonorable discharge.” You know what? That would end sexual harassment overnight. Same if an equivalent announcement was made in the church. Or anywhere. Why oh why do these institutions defend the accused instead of distancing themselves??? They’re certainly NOT protecting the institution they belong to.
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I don’t think that would end harassment or abuse anywhere. Butterflies gonna fly, birds gonna sing, molesters gonna molest, no matter where they are.

We already do what you suggested. We have laws, some even carrying the death penalty, against all sorts of crimes, and people continue to commit them in ever-increasing numbers.
 
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ConstantLearner said:
I don’t think that would end harassment or abuse anywhere. Butterflies gonna fly, birds gonna sing, molesters gonna molest, no matter where they are.

We already do what you suggested. We have laws, some even carrying the death penalty, against all sorts of crimes, and people continue to commit them in ever-increasing numbers.
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Of course I agree to some extent. You can’t eliminate a determined predator who is immune to the prospect of punishment. But on the other hand, let’s take another crime, say embezzlement. You don’t have a corporate culture that simply transfers an embezzler to another department or branch. You don’t have situations (I hope) where all the people in the accounting department are aware that “Steve” is embezzling, but they ignore it. And you don’t have a situation where potential, hopeful embezzlers say to themselves, “I’m going to work for Corporation X because I know I can embezzle and get away with it.” All I’m saying is you need to take immediate action as an organization to distance yourselves from criminals or all kinds.
 
Thank you…this helps. I do believe in the Apostolic Church, you know, the St. Peter go and build my church gather my people. 🙂 I will have to start saying this then. I have been omitting this part for so long, it will be a struggle to put it back on. 🙂

(But yes, these events were actually very very very ugly, and long drawn out and so full of evil from so many so called trusted people, it still makes my hair stand 30 years later.)
 
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The same here. My trouble is I remember “everything”. When I start reviewing things it brings me down, and I realize Our Lord does not want me to do that. He has control over all things and His ways will remain a mystery to us. The cure is - quickly stop and say to Our Lord, sorry Jesus - I forgive them the best I can so please fix it up so I am not displeasing to You. I will do better. My inclination is to say I will “try”, but that is a cop out! I will admit that I have a great reflex to defend others, probably some of that is pride or sense of control, but that is my struggle. Its not so bad and sometimes it turns out great! About trust - yes, people can surprise you when you go forward for them, turn around and they are not behind you. Yeah, that’s a big one. Stay strong.🙂
 
How fun! I sent my post and I have a little Birthday Cake by my name! Yep, it is 8-18 again! So its 8-18-18 and later on it will be 8:18 on 8/18-18

I should run out and buy a lottery ticket!
 
JanetF said:
Flagged…not all priests molest children. Consider your words more carefully and charitably.
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ConstantLearner never claimed all priests molest children. Perhaps you should take your own advice about care and charity.
 
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That’s an honest misunderstanding. The word choice was a bit confusing.
 
Some people post before they get through the rest of the thread.
 
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