The Catholic Church dealth with pedophiles by giving them pyschological treatment rather than going to the police and reporting it as a crime. These priests were sent to these “treatment centers” then let out to go to other parishes and commence their molestations all over again. The parishioners were not told what had happened in their parishes and the new parishes had no idea that their new priest had committed a crime against children.
Child molestation is a crime that has to be stopped. First report it to the police, put them in jail and then give them therapy if it is possible. I have heard that it is very difficult to change pedophiles.
Where I am coming from in my call to recognize it as sin; sin has consequences. Someone molests a child, that’s sin. That particular sin has a variety of consequences. For one, there are legal repercussions. They need to be reported to the law and prosecuted. For another, they cannot be trusted around kids. There are a number of other really sucky consequences for this particular sin, including , but not exclusive to consequences in the spiritual realm. The consequences of this sin in a just and merciful society suck like crazy for the offender. And they should.
I threw in the word merciful because anything less than full justice for the perp is not merciful to the victim. I also throw that in because God is a God of redemption. He wants to redeem the offender to a position of freedom of that sin. But that redemption does not preclude the consequences of that sin.
I am also convinced, because of my clarity that this is a sin of the heart issue, that therapy will never change an offender of this type. I have no more trust for a molester who has completed secular therapy than I do for one who has not completed the therapy because secular therapy does not address the real problem.
To sum it up, my response is a swift and sure declaration of it as sin, a swift and sure enforcement of the legal consequences of such a heinous sin, and an offer of God’s redemption for the dark bondage the person has allowed in their life. Anything less is pandering to sin and makes a mockery of God. I believe the Catholic church has done less. Much less.