[AmishDude]

Unfortunately, the media (esp. in NY) will grasp at this because this guy can be lumped into the "sex scandal". As regrettable as this is, this priest is not part of the problem.

[Antoninus]

As regrettable as this is, this priest is not part of the problem.

Yes, he is. He's in a position of authority and has taken a vow of celibacy. He's not only broken this vow and abused his authority, he's also made himself liable to blackmail by carrying on these affairs. And as we well know, those within the Church bent on destroying it from the inside are not above using blackmail to get what they want.

[patent]

As regrettable as this is, this priest is not part of the problem.

Hogwash. If you want to define the problem ever so narrowly that the definition forces agreement with your view, fine, then he isn't part of the problem of pedophilia. The real problem though, is priestly formation which tolerates and in some cases encourages laxity in sexual morals. Tolerating heterosexual dalliances leads to tolerating homosexual dalliances, which as should be obvious right now leads to pederasty. A bishop subject to blackmail for his own sins will have a harder time cracking down on the pederasts and pedophiles. At the moment we have too much of all of these things. This priest certainly fits smack dab into that.

Priests who violate celibacy have always been with us, but the numbers that we see today are a direct result of attitudes like this, that some sex is OK. If you have vowed to be a celibate priest, it isn't.

Violate that vow and you are very much a part of the problem for the Church today.

patent