All I no about the priest-child molestation issue is what I’ve heard in the news. Can you provide a reference for your statistics? I still don’t understand how they are computed. Are you saying that 2% of priests, nuns, Catholic layworkers are pedophiles while 4% of the general population is pedophiles. Those numbers seem too large on both counts.
Best,
Leela
Leela:
I have a written FBI statistical report - a year or so old - on the numbers, but, have moved thrice since receiving it. Now, it’s somewhere in my collection of stuff. Below you will find an excerpt from
Religious Tolerance.org that you might find interesting. I will supply you with more information, that you can obtain from internet sites, as I can.
As as far as the numbers, in my post, seeming very large, remember, like rape, this crime is one of the least reported crimes in society. In fact, the “outing” of the priest-scandal may have actually improved the visibility of the numbers where the Church is involved. If that’s so, the Church’s percentages may well be even lower. The numbers I suggested are extrapolations from legal authorities best guess estimates that somewhere between 1% - 10% of child molestation cases ever get reported. 90% - 99% don’t.
"
Pedophilia and hebephilia among Roman Catholic priests:
It is extremely important that we know the precise nature of the evil that is out there. The media has not been particularly helpful in educating the public. They tend towards sensationalism.
One serious problem is that the meaning of “pedophilia” appears to be in a state of transition. In the past, it meant simply an adult who is attracted to young, pre-pubertal, children. The term is now used frequently to refer to adults who are not only attracted to young children, but who actually abuse them. There does not appear to be a word in common use which refers to a non-abusive pedophile.
One misconception is that most of the sexual abuse by priests involves pedophilia – the molestation of pre-pubertal girls and boys. This is not true.
The vast majority of cases appears to be by abusive hebephiles – adults sexually attracted to post-pubertal adolescents. This often takes the form of sexual activity by homosexual priests “with young seminarians or 16- or 17-year-old boys. While such homosexual activities with minors are criminal offenses – and immoral – they are certainly not examples of pedophilia or child molestation.” 9
Unfortunately, precise data on abuse is not available. Data is largely based on experts’ opinions. But perhaps the following might be helpful:
In another essay, we describe various estimates of the percentage of Roman Catholic priests who engage in sexual activities with persons under the age of 18. They range from 0.12% to 6%. In the absence of precise data, a value of 3% might be a reasonable guess.
If the 3% value is accurate, then it is important to remember that 97% of priests are not sexually abusive to children and adults.
In the same essay, investigators have estimated that between 90% and 98% of the abusers victimize post-pubertal adolescents, while the rest assault pre-pubertal children.
A value of 95% might be a reasonable guess.
The percentage of males in the general population who sexually abuse young children is unknown. Some estimates are in the range of 1%
If those data are accurate then: About 0.15% of priests sexually abuse young children.
This is perhaps 1/8 the rate of men generally.
Priests have a much lower rate of abusive pedophilia than does the general population of men.
The percentage of males in the general population who sexually abuse post-pubertal youths is unknown. We know of no reliable estimates.
If the above data are accurate, the: About 3% of priests sexually abuse adolescents.
We cannot conclude whether abuse of adolescents is more common among priests then among the general population of men. We have a hunch that priests are significantly more abusive.
If the age of consent for homosexual activity were lowered to the age of 16, as it is in many countries, most of the criminal acts would disappear. Cases of hebephilia would still represent an ethical quagmire, however. They would be a gross violation of the priest’s ordination vows, an abuse of his power and influence, and would be an extremely harmful experience to most of the teens. For example, in Kingston, ON, Canada where our office is located, an Anglican church organist at St. George’s Cathedral was convicted of sexually abusing many youth. Many people believe that two suicides resulted from his molestations."
religioustolerance.org/clergy_sex6.htm
jd
- but even if that passage can be interpreted as implying permission of some variety, rather than directly causal action, God is still ultimately responsible. Even if this is a punitive action. Even if “God does X” is a way of saying, “man does X, but even though he does wrong by doing X, God is in charge of absolutely everything including X and those who do it”. That is one of the problems with treating the Adam & Eve story as historically factual - it makes God responsible for moral enormities, for no discernible reason.
