Are you saying Catholic priests were the only people molesting children for decades? That the Catholic Church invented child molestation?
Not at all. Thats really not the point is it? The era were speaking of was among the most high profile, most blatant, most widespread, most covered up example I can think of. I do not care about other religions…. What concerns me are the flaws of our own. How these scumbags destroyed the faith of countless worshippers. How catholicism has never recovered. How even the actual pedophiles were protected by the church right to the very top. Still continues today.
You keep missing, or ignoring the point as do most Catholics when they knee jerk excuse the behavior of their church in this regard.
A couple factors to consider are that of all people, whose who claim to be the representatives of Christ on the earth, have NO excuse for allowing or enabling any kind of sinful behavior. Catholicism takes the moral high ground on so many issues and not only turned a blind eye to the child sexual abuse, but actually enabled it and protected the priests by shuffling them around to new parishes and hushing it up.
Considering the Catholic church loves to take responsibility for the Bible, they sure don't do a very good job of obeying it.
Also, the damage done to someone spiritually by having someone claiming to represent God and engaging in behavior like that, is incalculable.
It leaves the poor kid with this image of God as being a child molester. What kind of loving father image of God does that portray?
Also, the criticism is not that the abuse happened to occur, but it's over the Roman hierarchy's despicable handling of it.
Everyone knows you can only do so much to stop a predator. Abusers will find a way.
But they don't need their superiors to watch the door while it's going on. THAT is where the Catholic church more than dropped the ball. It made itself complicit with the sin.