Posted on 04/05/2002 8:45:54 PM PST by Brian Kopp DPM
10 MYTHS ABOUT PRIESTLY PEDOPHILIA
1. Catholic priests are more likely to be pedophiles than other groups of men.
This is just plain false. There's absolutely no evidence that priests are more likely to abuse children than are other groups of men. The use and abuse of children as objects for the sexual gratification of adults is epidemic in all classes, professions, religions, and ethnic communities across the globe, as figures on child pornography, incest, and child prostitution make abundantly clear. Pedophilia (the sexual abuse of a prepubescent child) among priests is extremely rare, affecting only 0.3% of the entire population of clergy. This figure, cited in the book Pedophiles and Priests by non-Catholic scholar, Philip Jenkins, is from the most comprehensive study to date, which found that only one out of 2,252 priests considered over a thirty-year period was afflicted with pedophilia. In the recent Boston scandal, only four of the more than eighty priests labeled by the media as "pedophiles" are actually guilty of molesting young children.
Pedophilia is a particular type of compulsive sexual disorder in which an adult (man or woman) abuses prepubescent children. The vast majority of the clerical sex-abuse scandals now coming to light do not involve pedophilia. Rather, they involve ephebophilia -- homosexual attraction to adolescent boys. While the total number of sexual abusers in the priesthood is much higher than those guilty of pedophilia, it still amounts to less than 2 percent -- comparable to the rate among married men (Jenkins, Pedophiles = and Priests).
In the wake of the current crisis in the Church, other religious denominations and non-religious institutions have admitted to having similar problems with both pedophilia and ephebophilia among the ranks of their clergy. There's no evidence that Catholic prelates are more likely to be pedophiles than Protestant ministers, Jewish leaders, physicians, or any other institution in which adults are in a position of authority and power over children.
2. The celibate state of priests leads to pedophilia.
Celibacy bears no causal relation to any type of deviant sexual addiction including pedophilia. In fact, married men are just as likely as celibate priests to sexually abuse children (Jenkins, Priests and Pedophilia). In the general population, the majority of abusers are regressed heterosexual men who sexually abuse girls. Women are also found to be among those sexual abusers. While it's difficult to obtain accurate statistics on childhood sexual abuse, the characteristic patterns of repeat child sex offenders have been well described. The profiles of child molesters never include normal adults who become erotically attracted to children as a result of abstinence (Fred Berlin, "Compulsive Sexual Behaviors" in Addiction and Compulsion Behaviors [Boston: NCBC, 1998]; Patrick J. Carnes, "Sexual Compulsion: Challenge for Church Leaders" in Addiction and Compulsion; Dale O'Leary, "Homosexuality and Abuse").
3. Married clergy would make pedophilia and other forms of sexual misconduct go away.
Some people -- including a few vocal dissenting Catholics -- are exploiting this crisis to draw attention to their own agendas. Some are demanding a married Catholic clergy in response to the scandal, as if marriage would make men stop hurting children. This flies in the face of the aforementioned statistic that married men are just as likely to abuse children as celibate priests (Jenkins, Pedophilia and Priests).
Since neither being Catholic nor being celibate predisposes a person to develop pedophilia, a married clergy wouldn't solve the problem ("Doctors call for pedophilia research," The Hartford Currant, March 23). One has only to look at similar crises in other denominations and professions to see this.
The plain fact is, healthy heterosexual men have never been known to develop erotic attractions to children as a result of abstinence.
4. Clerical celibacy was a medieval invention.
Wrong. In the Western Catholic Church, celibacy became universally practiced in the 4th century, beginning with St. Augustine's adoption of the monastic discipline for all of his priests. In addition to the many practical reasons for this discipline -- it was supposed to discourage nepotism -- the celibate lifestyle allowed priests to be more independent and available. This ideal also called diocesan priests to live out the same witness as their brothers in monastic life. The Church hasn't changed her directives for celibacy, because over the centuries she has realized the practical = and spiritual value of the practice (Pope Paul VI, On the Celibacy of the Priesthood;, Encyclical letter, 1967). Indeed, even in the Eastern Catholic Church -- which includes a married clergy -- the bishops are chosen only from unmarried priests.
Christ revealed the true value and meaning of celibacy. Catholic priests from St. Paul to the present have imitated Him in their total gift of self to God and others as celibates. Although Christ raised marriage to the level of a sacrament that reveals the love and life of the Trinity, He was also a living witness to the life of the world to come. The celibate priesthood is for us a living witness to this life in which the unity and joy of marriage between a man and a woman is surpassed in the perfect, loving communion with God. Celibacy properly understood and lived frees a person to love and serve others as Christ did.
Over the past forty years, celibacy has been an even more powerful witness to the loving sacrifice of men and women who offer themselves in service their communities.
5. Female clergy would help solve the problem.
There's simply no logical connection between the deviant behavior of a tiny minority of male clergy and the inclusion of women in their ranks. While it's true that most statistics on child molestation show that men are more likely to abuse children, the fact is that some women are also child molesters. In 1994, the National Opinion Research Center showed that the second most common form of child sexual abuse involved women abusing boys. For every three male abusers, there's one female abuser. Statistics on female sex offenders are more difficult to obtain because the crime is more hidden (Interview with Dr. Richard Cross, "A Question of Character,", National Opinion Research Center; cf. Carnes). Also, their most frequent victims (boys) are less likely to report sexual abuse, especially when the abuser is a woman (O'Leary, "Child Sexual Abuse").
There are reasons why the Church cannot ordain women (as John Paul II has explained numerous times). But that is beside the point. The debate about women's ordination is completely unrelated to the problem of pedophilia and other forms of sexual misconduct.
6. Homosexuality isn't connected to pedophilia.
This is plainly false. Homosexuals are three times as likely to be pedophiles as heterosexual men. Although exclusive pedophilia (adult attraction to prepubescent children) is an extreme and rare phenomenon, one third of homosexual men are attracted to teenage boys (Jenkins, Priests and Pedophilia). The seduction of teenage boys by homosexual men is a well-documented phenomenon. This form of deviant behavior is the most common type of clerical abuse and is directly connected to homosexual behavior.
As Michael Rose shows in his upcoming book, Goodbye! Good Men, there's an active homosexual sub-culture within the Church. This is due to several factors. The Church's confusion in the wake of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the tumult following the Second Vatican Council, and the greater approval of homosexual behavior in the culture at large created an environment in which active homosexual men were admitted to and tolerated in the priesthood. The Church also came to rely more on the psychiatric profession for screening candidates and for treating those priests identified as having problems. In 1973, the American Psychological Association changed its characterization of homosexuality as an objectively disordered orientation and removed it from the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual IV (Nicolosi, J., 1991, Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality, 1991; Diamond, E., et. al., Homosexuality and Hope, unpublished CMA document). The treatment of deviant sexual behaviors followed suit.
While the Church's approach to those who struggle with homosexual attractions has been compassionate, she has been consistent in maintaining the view that homosexuality is objectively disordered and that marriage between a man and woman is the proper context for sexual activity.
7. The Catholic hierarchy has done nothing to address pedophilia.
While we can all agree that the hierarchy hasn't done enough, this claim is nevertheless false. When the Church's Code of Canon Law was revised in 1983, an important passage was added: "The cleric who commits any other offense against the sixth precept of the Decalogue, if the offense was committed with violence or threats, or publicly or with a minor who is under 16 years [now extended to 18 years], must be punished with just punishments, not excluding expulsion from the clerical state" (CIC 1395:2).
But that certainly isn't the only thing the Church has done. The bishops, beginning with Pope Paul VI in 1967, issued a warning to the Catholic faithful concerning the negative consequences of the sexual revolution. The pope's encyclical letter, "On the Celibacy of the Priests," addressed the question of a celibate priesthood in the face of a culture crying out for greater sexual "freedom." The pope affirmed celibacy even as he called on bishops to take responsibility for "fellow priests troubled by difficulties which greatly endanger the divine gift they have." He advised the bishops to seek appropriate help for these priests, or, in grave cases, to seek a dispensation for priests who could not be helped. In addition, he urged them to be more prudent in judging the fitness of candidates for the priesthood.
In 1975, the Church issued another document called "Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics" (written by Joseph Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) that explicitly addressed, among other issues, the problem of homosexuality among priests. Both the 1967 and 1975 documents addressed kinds of sexual deviancy, including pedophilia and ephebophilia, that are
especially prevalent among homosexuals.
In 1994, the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse issued guidelines to the nation's then 191 dioceses to help them develop policies to deal with the problem of sexual abuse of minors. Almost all dioceses responded and developed their own policies (USCCB document: Guidelines for dealing with Child Sexual Abuse, 1993-1994). By this time, pedophilia was recognized as a disorder that could not be cured, and a problem that was becoming more prevalent due to the increase of pornography. Before 1994, bishops took their cue from experts in the psychiatric profession who believed pedophilia could be successfully treated. Priests guilty of sexual abuse were sent to one of several treatment facilities across the United States. Bishops often relied upon the judgments of experts in determining whether priests were fit for ministry. This doesn't mitigate the negligence on the part of some in the hierarchy, but it does offer some insight.
In response to the recent scandals, some dioceses are setting up special commissions on child abuse, as well as victims' advocacy groups; and they are officially acknowledging that any legitimate allegation of abuse must be dealt with immediately.
8. The Church's teaching on sexual morality is the real problem, not pedophilia.
The Church's teaching on sexual morality is rooted in the dignity of the human person and the goodness of human sexuality. This teaching condemns the sexual abuse of children in all its forms, just as it condemns other reprehensible sexual crimes such as rape, incest, child pornography, and child prostitution. In other words, if this teaching were lived out, there'd be no pedophilia problem at all.
The notion that this teaching somehow leads to pedophilia is based on a misunderstanding or deliberate misrepresentation of Catholic sexual morality. The Church recognizes that sexual activity without the love and commitment found uniquely in marriage undermines the dignity of the human person and is ultimately destructive. As far as celibacy is concerned, centuries of experience have proven that men and women can abstain from sexual activity while living fulfilling, healthy, and meaningful lives.
9. Catholic journalists have ignored the pedophile problem.
As any reader of CRISIS knows, this claim is patently false. Our October 2001 cover story featured "The High Price of Priestly Pederasty," an expose on the scandal that wouldn't erupt into the mainstream press for another three months. You can read our full article at: http://www.crisismagazine.com/october2001/index.html.
And we weren't the only ones who have covered the pedophilia/pederasty problem. Charles Sennot, author of Broken Covenant, Rod Dreher of The National Review, CRISIS co-founder Ralph MacInerny, Maggie Gallagher, Dale O'Leary, the Catholic Medical Association, Michael Novak, Peggy Noonan, Bill Donohue, Dr. Richard Cross, Philip Lawler, Alan Keyes, and Msgr. George Kelly have all covered the issue exhaustively.
Just because the mainstream media have chosen to ignore our work doesn't mean the work hasn't been done.
10. Requiring celibacy limits the number of men as candidates for the priesthood, resulting in a high number of sexually unbalanced priests.
First of all, there isn't a "high number of sexually unbalanced priests." Again, the vast majority of priests are normal, healthy, and faithful. Every day they prove themselves worthy of the trust and confidence of those entrusted to their care.
Secondly, those who do not feel called to a life of celibacy are ipso facto not called to be Catholic priests. Indeed, most men are not meant to be celibate. However, some are -- and of those, some are called by God to the priesthood.
A priestly vocation, like a marriage, requires the mutual and free consent of both parties. Thus, the Church must discern that a candidate is indeed worthy and fit mentally, physically, and spiritually to commit to a life of priestly service. A candidate's desire for the priesthood does not constitute a vocation in and of itself. Spiritual and vocation directors are now even more attuned to the character flaws that would make an otherwise qualified man an unfit candidate.
1. Catholic priests are more likely to be pedophiles than other groups of men.
Pedophiles seek out occupations where they can prey on children. The priesthood offers ample opportunity for this to occur. Until recently, no one questioned a priest’s interaction with children. The mantle of religious authority is the perfect cover for pedophiles, and the Catholic Church has covered it up for years.
2. The celibate state of priests leads to pedophilia.
This isn’t true. However, humans are sexual beings, and are prone to act on their sexual impulses. Given that pedophiles tend to seek out occupations where they can take advantage of children, it is unsurprising that the cover of “celibacy” distracts the casual observer from questioning actions that would be suspicious if done by another.
3. Married clergy would make pedophilia and other forms of sexual misconduct go away.
Married clergy would not make sexual misconduct go away (just ask Jimmy Swaggart). However, married clergy would make it difficult for pedophiles and other deviants to use the priesthood to hide their activities. Rather than being the norm, the “confirmed bachelor” might be looked on with a bit of suspicion, making it difficult for a pedophile to troll his parish.
4. Clerical celibacy was a medieval invention.
Just because something has existed for over a thousand years, doesn’t make it good. Part of Martin Luther’s problem with the church was the deviant lifestyle of the priests, although admittedly such conduct was apparently homosexual and heterosexual in nature rather a scourge of pedophiles. High-ranking clergy did not commission male nude frescoes for their bathrooms and bedrooms for the love of the arts. Popes married, and one even sired children by his daughters. Either celibacy entices the perverts, or celibacy creates them, but the result is the same.
5. Female clergy would help solve the problem.
It depends on how one defines a “problem.” If the problem is pedophilia, female pedophilia is relatively rare in comparison to its male counterpart. If one deems homosexuality part of the problem, given that aging lesbians dominate the cloisters, it is unlikely that female clergy would change the alternative sexual orientations that dominate the clergy.
6. Homosexuality isn't connected to pedophilia.
Although homosexuals are more likely to be pedophiles, the church’s problem is that it attracts pedophiles, many of whom just happen to be homosexual. It is the ability to have contact with potential victims with virtual impunity that attracts pedophiles to the church, and this is not based on the particular orientation of the pedophile.
7. The Catholic hierarchy has done nothing to address pedophilia.
The church has done plenty to address pedophilia, including: paying millions in hush money, covering up thousand of sex crimes against minors, and reassigning pedophiles to new position where different children can be attacked.
8. The Church's teaching on sexual morality is the real problem, not pedophilia.
Actions speak louder than words. The church aids and abets pedophiles rather than address the problem, unless one considers the millions paid in hush money to be issue resolution.
9. Catholic journalists have ignored the pedophile problem.
At some point credibility is gone. Listening to Catholic journalists “address” pedophilia is like listening to Bill Clinton “feel your pain.” Regardless of good intentions (how about that road to hell), someone still ends up getting screwed in the end, in this case minor children.
10. Requiring celibacy limits the number of men as candidates for the priesthood, resulting in a high number of sexually unbalanced priests.
Although celibacy may be an ideal of the church, the majority of priests and nuns engage in sexual activities, predominantly homosexual in nature. To deny this is to discard any vestige of credibility on the issue. Rather than acknowledging that it is an ideal, the church cloaks the sexual activities of its clergy in secrecy, and then wonders why pedophiles might consider this secrecy an advantage when selecting an occupation. Young Rhino, J.D., LL.M. a disgusted Catholic
Pure BS, along with 97% of the rest of your post. God Bless you anyhow for trying. You can pick up your consolation prize on the way out...
Which part of Jesus' words, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail," don't you understand?
One of the reasons you will see litigation left and right today is the simple reason that the church has assets and the world has plenty of lawyers willing to make lots of money.
What would stop a wayward Catholic from getting together with a few people and making false claims among the real ones?
We've seen where in 9-11 before all the bodies were cold there were people falsely trying to access money meant for the families. People cheat where they can to take advantage of a situation.
I'm not saying that there aren't real claims regarding the Church's Bad Priests. But you will see a bunch of false claims among the real ones and many good priests will suffer for the bad ones.
I'm a Catholic and never seen any of what is going on in my school days. But evidently there were some bad priests.
A witch hunt needs to be avoided and the problem at the same time needs to be taken care of.
We are taught as Christians to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and to forgive the sinner but reject the sin.
Those over these bad priests should have never again put their trust in priests that had betrayed the trust of the flock they had charge over. To those that have been given much responsibility, much is expected.
These are sick men who should have been treated as such. I heard psychologist were involved with care of different priests and that this was a complete failure.
This should greatly speak to the lack of validity in the area of psychology in regards to treating people with mental problems.
Catholics and other Christians need to pray for the clergy.
In the end the church will have to handle people like teachers do students today.
No privacy and doors will remain open. All personel contact will be in the plain view of others.
Only the confessional will there be any privacy but the confessional will be observed in plain view.
Unfortunately, I think this will be felt all through other faiths as well in the future. When money is to be made from lawsuits there will be lines of other people all to willing to set up a church, minister, rabbi or priest for the almighty dollar.
Wow! Such a comprehensive rebuttal...then again blanket denials is the modus operandi of those defending the indefensible.
Correction..."a former Catholic."
Even if you still warm a Catholic pew, your heart and mind left the Church long ago. You can still come home though. I'll pray for you. May God Bless you abundantly, and have Mercy on us all.
Show me anywhere on this forum where I have done anything but criticize these homosexual bastards and their enablers in the most very harsh words.
April 05, 2002 at 22:45:18 PST
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Cardinal Roger Mahony, the head of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, said Friday he has been accused of molesting a female student at a Catholic high school in 1970.
The cardinal made the revelation in a three-page statement faxed to The Associated Press. He denied the woman's allegations, made last month to Fresno church officials, and said he has called for both church and law enforcement officials to investigate.
Mahony is believed to be the highest-ranking sitting church official to be accused of sexual misconduct in the scandal that has engulfed dioceses across the country in the past few months.
"Such false allegations are hurtful and troubling to me, yet I continue to pray fervently for those who make them," said Mahony, who has been cardinal since 1991 in the diocese that includes 5 million Catholics.
The cardinal said the woman contacted the pastor of St. John's Cathedral in Fresno on March 20 and told Monsignor John Esquivel she was molested in 1970, when she was at San Joaquin Memorial Catholic High School.
Mahony, who was a priest in Fresno at the time, said he did not recognize the woman's name as someone he had ever met, adding that his contact with the school was limited to occasionally celebrating Mass.
Mahony said he has asked Bishop John Steinbock of the Fresno diocese to handle the case. The diocese has opened an investigation and held a two-hour interview with the woman March 25. Mahony said a transcript of the interview has been turned over to Fresno police.
Lt. Tony Bennink of the Fresno Police Department said he couldn't confirm whether an investigation was under way. The cardinal identified the woman in his statement. A number for her in Fresno was unlisted and she could not be reached for comment. The AP does not identify victims in sexual assault cases.
Mahony said he also reported the allegation to the Los Angeles Police Department's sexually exploited child unit on March 22.
"My personal integrity and reputation demand that I take all possible steps to refute this false allegation," he said. "I pledge my continuing total cooperation with the two investigations under way."
Los Angeles police have said they are investigating reports that the diocese has removed six to 12 priest accused of sexual abuse in cases dating as far back as 10 years. The problems here are part of a recent surge in similar allegations across the country.
The archdiocese has not released the number of priests removed, though Mahony has said some priests were ousted.
Earlier Friday, a series of about 60 e-mails between top officials in the archdiocese were released by radio station KFI of Los Angeles, where officials said they came from a listener.
The e-mails paint a picture of an organization scrambling to handle the wave of sexual abuse accusations against its priests.
"It's the new cases ... that keep the story alive," Mahony wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "With our various cases now I don't even know what the numbers (of accused priests) are myself!"
The e-mails - most marked "privileged client-attorney communication" - show some archdiocesan officials learned about the removal of at least two priests just last month. Both were members of religious orders, meaning they did not work directly for the diocese.
The e-mails also indicate officials were concerned about priests beyond the "Big 8" Mahony referred to in a March 30 memo to his attorney, Sister Judith Ann Murphy.
Mahony told Murphy in an earlier e-mail that the diocese made a "huge mistake" in failing to turn over three sexual abuse cases involving priests to police, and urged her to talk with detectives about the cases.
"If we don't, today, 'consult' with the detective about those three names, I can guarantee you that I will get hauled into a grand jury proceeding and I will be forced to give all the names," he wrote.
Just how much information to release to police is discussed in several e-mails.
In the case of one priest under scrutiny, "I am leaning towards giving it to the LAPD to review," Mahony wrote in an e-mail Monday. "We could be very vulnerable on any case where there is a dispute among folks, and we have not referred it out."
In preparing Monsignors Craig Cox and Richard Loomis for interviews with investigators, Murphy wrote: "Remember Sergeant Joe Friday - 'Only the facts, sir, only the facts.' ... Do not volunteer information. This is not a session to be chatty."
In the Wednesday e-mail, Mahony estimated that by mid-May, "any new problems will have been uncovered, and that we can begin the healing process over the coming months."
The diocese went to court Thursday to prevent KFI and the Los Angeles Times from disseminating the e-mails, but a judge rejected the request.
In a letter faxed to The AP and others, archdiocese attorney John McNicholas exhorted media outlets not to publish the e-mails and return any copies they receive.
Publishing the communications "will violate state and federal statutes and tort law regarding invasion of privacy," he wrote.
Archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg's said e-mails Friday were "illegally obtained" and that police and federal authorities were investigating.
"Beyond that, I would say the people who are in ministry positions in the archdiocese are in full compliance with California law in the mandatory reporting of child neglect and sexual abuse," Tamberg said.
I doubt the veracity of this report....see highlighted item.
And neither are most priests or protestant ministwers or rabbis, you fool. Read the article again at top. Quit yer ranting, raving and BS slander.
I think this is one such situation. If someone was active over 32 years, there would be a line of folks like some of the bad priests we hear about today.
If there were not stacks of complaints in the past, then this one is most likely bunk.
Bigot.
Nope. Wrong answer. The mental gymnastics and intellectual dishonesty required to come to that conclusion make anything else you say, at best, suspect.
For quite some time it has been obvious that the Catholic Church,priesthood and chancery bureaucracies had been infiltrated by those seeking to destroy it.Maybe the infiltrators have orchestrated a lot of these "confidential settlements" we are now hearing about.
This conjecture is not in any way meant to minimize the incredible betrayal of the innocent by those priests from whom we expected so much more. We need to pray harder than ever and listen to God's answers as we act to take back the Church.
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