[7thson]

Pedophilia does not exist in the Catholic church because Priests are celibate. It exists because one of the jobs of Priests is to minister to children. That is why some Priests are pedophiles. Pedophiles gravitate to positions where they will be close to chldren - the clergy, teachers, scout leaders.

[foreshadowed at waco]

I think another reason for the pedophilia, largely homosexual in nature, is that entering the priesthood was seen as a life solution for one's homosexual son when I was a kid in the late 50s and early 60s. Open homosexuality was not an option for immature young men since it required great courage to leave home, move to the city, and pursue a free lifestyle. Living in the home community was simply not an option for Irish and Italian Catholic families anyway. The priesthood was seen as a refuge from the world and celebacy meant no sex at all--therefore no homosexual sex.

I don't think people realized that the homosexual urge would come out and see the light of day despite attempts to suppress it. I really don't think that the issue of pedophilia even entered peoples' heads since no one would have talked about it since it is right up there with incest as a major taboo. (I have 2 women friends who were studying for the convent when they underwent mandatory psychological counseling and it was revealed that they had each been victims of incest...they both continued counseling, left the convent, and eventually married and had families.) BTW an excellent film "Mass Appeal' with Jack Lemmon explores the issue of homosexuality within the Church in a respectful manner--and Jack Lemmon is sensational as always.