The Moral Structure of Pedophilia

The Public Discourse ^ | 9/30/13 | Anthony Esolen

[rhema]

The moral structure of pedophilia is simply this: the welfare of children is subordinate to the sexual gratification of adults.

Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team, established a charity called The Second Mile, for boys, mostly fatherless, who were living in troubled homes. It is not clear that he did so initially to lure boys into a trap. But that is what eventually happened, according to the testimony of the men who recalled with shame and disgust their initiation into sodomy.

Raymond Lahey, former Catholic bishop of Antigonish, was apprehended in the Ottawa airport and his computer files scanned. They contained nude pictures of boys. Lahey resigned in disgrace. The Canadian press tried hard to conceal the sex of the children, and suppressed any report about the exotic destinations to which the bishop commonly flew. One isn’t to inquire too closely into travel agencies that do a hopping business flying men to places like Thailand, which teems with boy prostitutes. And girl prostitutes too; apparently Thailand is a favorite sweating-off ground for Korean businessmen.

In contemporary America, condemnation of pedophilia rests on sentiment and not on moral reasoning. Nobody can simultaneously explain why pedophilia is so vile and uphold the first commandment of the sexual revolution: Fulfill thy desires.

[Chode]

[GraceG]

I think in terms of punishment the parents should pick the sentance form a pre-approved list, after conviction of course.

[tpmintx]

As young parents years ago, my wife and I took a class on keeping our children safe. One thing that really stuck with me is that a person who presents himself as doing something that appears to be completely selfless for a child or a group of children, is likely a predator.

• The scout leader who does not have a kid or history of a kid in the troop.
• The volunteer coach without a kid on the team.
• Unfortunately, priests.

Pedophiles really work hard to put themselves in "unimpeachable" positions of trust and volunteer to do all sorts of things for kids. All the while looking for an opportunity to "cut one out of the herd" for his own gratification. (I say "his" because this particular perversion seems to be male-dominated.)

It does not mean that all coaches or scout leaders or priests are pedophiles. However, the phrase "Trust, but VERIFY" is applicable here.

[count-your-change]

The foundation of all moral structures is the belief in a Higher Power that is moral and that we are accountable to.

The author is correct in that all immoral acts harm children and indeed all of society as the habits of restraint and concern for others gives way to “rights” and gratification of the flesh.

[Nifster]

Ummm..... not well reasoned. Plenty of people don’t subscribe to the ‘if it feels good do it’ morality. Because a bunch of immoral people are louder than everyone else does not make them either the leaders or the majority.

Somethings are wrong just because they are evil

[Fred Hayek]

•The volunteer coach without a kid on the team.

Shortly after graduating from college, I worked as a volunteer coach in an inner city track and field program. If it were today, I would never consider such a thing since it would automatically put me under such suspicion. It would take just one person making stuff up. “It is not the evidence that matters, it is the seriousness of the charge that counts.” I ran into this firsthand when someone did a websearch on my name, and one of the hits was on a similar name - different middle name. Aryan Nation, Christian Identity, child molester, and ties to a notorious domestic terrorist who had since been executed. That person with a similar name is now in a Federal prison, but in the accuser’s mind I was that person. I then dropped out of the sport in disgust.

[madprof98]

Brilliant point, which needs discussion:

Nobody can simultaneously explain why pedophilia is so vile and uphold the first commandment of the sexual revolution: Fulfill thy desires.

Something has to give, and it won't be the desires.

[sushiman]

Those Japanese !

[lbryce]

The title of this article is horrendously structured.