Except that teachers do not operate in persona Christi. So clerical pedophilia in addition to being a heinous crime is a blasphemy.
THAT is the difference.
Priests are humans and as subject to temptation and sin as anyone, and priests have fallen into temptation and committed any number of sins, some of which are criminal. They do not act
in persona Christi at all times in their lives, only when administering the Sacraments. Sacraments administered by an ordained priest remain sacramental and valid, even if the person committing them is sinful, a point that was settled by the early Church after some priests apostatized - the baptisms they had performed before their apostasy were still valid, as the Church decided.
Although the Catholic Church is the visible Body of Christ, it will attract people into its clerical ranks that have ulterior and self-serving motives. Any group that has regular contact with children will attract such people.
My actual point is that the Catholic Church is doing a far better job than other organizations in identifying and removing those people who have sinned against the Holy Spirit and also committed a criminal act. This was a hard-taught lesson, and Pope Benedict led from the front in this circumstance. The lessons have been wasted on other denominations, who are working overtime to ordain every openly lesbian or gay bishop they can.
The educational establishment is by far the worst offender for protecting child molesters (We have had 3 arrests since the start of the year among teachers in my state), and the unions and the collegial structure of faculty have been responsible for this in many states. That does not relieve individual priests and bishops of their moral responsibility, but they would be wise to look at what Pope Benedict did in order to cleanse their own houses.
