I’m not defending anyone. Just demanding moral clarity. The definition of “pedophile” is based on a desire, which I characterized as a morbid temptation (hardly a phrase one would use in defense of the desire).
Those who yield to temptations to engage in actions which harm others should be punished (and very harshly in the case of sexual predators who prey upon children), but for the actions, not for the temptation. Those who resist temptation, whether of a morbid and unusual sort like pedophilia, or of more ordinary sorts, ought not be condemned for being subject to temptation, but aided in resisting temptation — in traditional Christian societies those struggling against pedophilia might be urged to retreat to a monastery where they would have no contact with children. Perhaps pedophiles requesting to be castrated to drive off the temptation before they harm children should have their requests honored, rather than turned aside.
Leave thoughtcrime to the left. Even as applied to thoughts which are loathsome to us.
But this is the problem I have with your argument: You’re taking the evil out of the equation. The mere desire to sexually assault an innocent child is an unspeakable evil. It’s not mere a temptation, it’s a desire to commit a heinous act.
I’m not a psychiatrist, but if a patient reports such a desire, at very least, they should have to register with local police and the entire community should be put on red alert, if not committed for life.