In some cases there are no doubt people looking the other way. But not people who publicly hold themselves out to be guardians of Catholic/Christian faith and morals. I think it's perfectly normal for people to be more appalled by a Catholic bishop or archbishop actively covering up child molestation and helping arrange tranfers of known molestors to new locations where they'll have access to more victims, than by some public school educrat not bothering to report suspicions.
In this particular case, the guy didn't have "a place of employment", he was working in many different schools on an irregular schedule as a substitute teacher. In that situation I don't find it hard to believe that none of his temporary or permanent superiors knew about his activities, especially since we're talking about a school district or districts where apparently over 100 elementary and/or middle school aged children can be molested without a single one of them reporting it to a parent who would in turn call police and raise a massive ruckus.
Dear GovernmentShrinker,
I agree that it is appalling that some bishops engaged in cover-ups.
However, your second premise doesn't go over all that well for me. The fact is that parents put their children in the care of teachers, principals, and other folks in the schools. The overwhelming majority of children under the age of 18 are looked after, on a daily basis, directly, by public school teachers and principals.
From my perspective, this is perhaps the one set of folks (with the possible exception of cops) who I'd hold to as high a standard as Catholic hierarchs. It is quite literally part of their job description to care for and protect the children left in their charge for six or more hours per day. It is an extremely minimal expectation that these individuals not actively, maliciously harm their charges.
"In this particular case, the guy didn't have 'a place of employment,' he was working in many different schools on an irregular schedule as a substitute teacher."
From my perspective, that makes it worse, in that there weren't just a few individuals who might have been tipped off to his actions, but possibly dozens and dozens. I might buy that a few folks noticed nothing, or were naive. But dozens and dozens? Doesn't fly with me.
As well, the magnitude of things is a little out-of-balanced. The media were completely outraged that 10,000 children were molested by Catholic priests over a 50 year period. It was a major, national story, as well it should have been.
But these same folks seem rather ho-hum that 100,000 kids are molested in public schools every year.
If one story it sensational, the second is earth-shattering.
sitetest