Q&A: Understanding the Priest Scandal (Pedophilia occurs more frequently in Protestant Churches)

Catholic Answers ^ | 04/09/2010

[Guyin4Os]

Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.

10% of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia? What a scandalous lie you just told. Please correct it.

[svcw]

That would make sense. It would seem any pedophile would gravitate their careers to anywhere children are available.

[Responsibility2nd]

What a scandalous lie you just told. Please correct it.

_____________________________

Forget it. Scroll up and see where I had already reported this to the mods. But as expected, they agree with this claim.

[SeekAndFind]

I am not saying that I agree with it. I am saying that there are many sources that quote this figure.

See here for instance :

http://www.catholicleague.org/research/pedophiles_and_priests.htm

and here :

http://www.aboutcatholics.com/faith_beliefs/church_holy/

I don’t need to correct something I did not originate. I am simply QUOTING articles.

[SeekAndFind]

Now that I’ve quoted certain sources, let me challenge the figures posted by those who quote the 10% figure.

We should be very wary and cautious in accepting any statistical data quoted by ANYONE without quoting the source of the information at all. The entire number is very suspect from my point of view. Do you honestly want me to believe that 1 in 10 pastors that I meet who pastor churches in America are sexual perverts ?

Let’s make an estimation. If the word “Protestant” means non-Catholic, then, according to Wikipedia , see here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States

That would mean close to 52% of America ( rounded) is Protestant. That’s about 160 Million people right there. Assuming an average Pastor to Congregation ratio of 1 to 100, you have close to 1.5 million pastors in the USA.

see here :

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html#sizecong

They say that there are 600,00 clergy in Mainline Protestant Churches. This does not count the non-mainline Evangelical ones that are growing the fastest. A quick estimate based on the 10% Pedophile figure some websites are telling us makes the claim suspect.

They claim to be telling us that there is an estimated 100,000 non-catholic pastors who are pedophiles !! You expect me to believe that ??

They want us to believe that over 100,000 pastors could qualify for membership in NAMBLA !

I challenge the originator of this stat to name his source and the sample data for the study before he expects people like me to believe this figure.

THERE, I SAID IT.

[Da_Shrimp]

some ten percent are involved in sexual misconduct of some kind, and that ‘about two or three percent’ are pedophiles

So, 2 or 3%, NOT the 10% you claimed. Can you read?

[SeekAndFind]

I said in Post #1 that I was sent an e-mail and I was not the source of the figure. CAN’T *YOU* READ ?

[SeekAndFind]

Also from the article :

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“A recent study conducted in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania showed a 1.7 percent figure of priestly sexual abuse involving minors (cited by Philip Jenkins on “Catholic Answers Live,” May 17, 2002, archived at www.catholic.com).

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and again this from the above article :

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“The most-quoted survey of sexual problems among Protestant clergy states that some ten percent are involved in sexual misconduct of some kind, and that ‘about two or three percent’ are pedophiles”

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So, my heading that says -— Pedophilia occurs more frequently in Protestant Churches — REFLECTS what the article is claiming.

But please, do not confuse my quoting the article’s point of view with it being my own. THESE ARE TWO ENTIRELU DIFFERENT THINGS and you ought to know that.

I’ve already tried to debunk the 10% figure in POST 25.

[BenKenobi]

Gee, funny how fast the Prots don’t like it when they are treated the same way they’ve been treating us. Sucks, don’t it?

[SeekAndFind]

Forget it. Scroll up and see where I had already reported this to the mods. But as expected, they agree with this claim.

Please be fair to the mods, nowhere do they say that they agree with this claim.

They did say that Posters may put their own interpretation of the article in brackets behind the actual title of the article.

In fact, if you read the article, my interpretation is not even inaccurate. The article IS telling us that there are more percentage of cases of Pedophilia among Protestants ( 2 to 3 percent ) than Catholics ( 1.7% ).

If you disagree with the article, DEBUNK THE CLAIMS IN THE ARTICLE, but please, do not put intentions and motivations on others when they are not there.

[SeekAndFind]

Gee, funny how fast the Prots don’t like it when they are treated the same way they’ve been treating us. Sucks, don’t it?

The same way they've been treating us ? As in who ?

[BenKenobi]

You’ve not seen the threads bashing Benedict?

[Terabitten]

The question really isn’t who has the higher percentage - who cares? One pedophile or gay predator is too many.

The question is how are such people dealt with when their behavior is discovered?

In any (Protestant) church I’ve ever attended, no practicing homosexual (or admitted adulterer or fornicator, for that matter) was allowed to have any position of authority or leadership within the church. They could attend church, but that was it. They couldn’t be a deacon or elder, help lead worship, couldn’t even teach a Sunday School class.

The typical response in Protestant churches, when a leader is found to be in some sort of inappropriate relationship, is that they are given the choice to immediately resign whatever position they may have, or be publicly removed from it. Either way, they are typically out of leadership in a matter of days, not weeks, months, or years.

[SeekAndFind]

In any (Protestant) church I’ve ever attended, no practicing homosexual (or admitted adulterer or fornicator, for that matter) was allowed to have any position of authority or leadership within the church. They could attend church, but that was it. They couldn’t be a deacon or elder, help lead worship, couldn’t even teach a Sunday School class.

I guess for you, Anglicanism is not considered Protestant anymore ? They've ordained more than one gay bishop already ( openly gay and living with their partners too ).

[SeekAndFind]

Here's an example of what used to be a good Protestant Church that lost its way ....

Marble Collegiate Church, founded in 1628, is the oldest continuous Protestant congregation in North America. It is located at Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Ninth Street in New York City, and is part of the Reformed Church in America. The congregation has been a spiritual home to numerous well-known New Yorkers, and welcomes guests from all over the world every Sunday. Its worship services are seen live internationally on the World Wide Web.



See their Sunday Calendar . It has a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered (GIFTS) affirming ministry led by Dr. Kimberleigh Jordan, Elise Hanley.

[circlecity]

"Gee, funny how fast the Prots don’t like it when they are treated the same way they’ve been treating us. Sucks, don’t it?"

I can't fathom the foolishness of this "Protestants do it too" fingerpointing. Although there are a very few so called protestants piling on, virtually all of the Catholic/Pope child molest bashing of late has come from the secular community. The vast majority of evangelicals see that this is really an attack on Christians and know they are next once the world gets done with the Catholic church. Thus, in the Evangelical community we see more support for the Catholic Church of late and at the least, keeping quite to see what the real story is. By trying to shift blame (and attention) to Protestants you are just doing Satan's work for him. Despite our differences, Catholics and Protestants are in a major battle against the same enemy right how and the bomb throwers on each side need to wake up and realize it.

[Terabitten]

I guess for you, Anglicanism is not considered Protestant anymore ? They've ordained more than one gay bishop already ( openly gay and living with their partners too ).

Please note that I said "Protestant churches I've attended." I've never attended an apostate church (ie, one that accepts the homosexual "lifestyle" or that didn't accept the inerrancy of Scripture). I could be snarky and say that you can't really consider those other organizations as "churches" anymore, because, well, they're just overgrown social clubs.

I knew someone was going to immediately post all the Protestant churches that accept gays, but as far as I'm concerned, those "churches" are no longer Christian. As I said before, they're just vaguely religious social clubs.

I'm an old-school, 5-point Calvinist -- but theologically, I have more in common with the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church than I do with the Presbyterian Church (USA). At least the conservative Protestant denominations, the RCC, and the Orthodox are generally holding the line in matters of morality.

[Terabitten]

, in the Evangelical community we see more support for the Catholic Church of late and at the least, keeping quite to see what the real story is.... Despite our differences, Catholics and Protestants are in a major battle against the same enemy right how and the bomb throwers on each side need to wake up and realize it.

That's something I've said on here for years, and it's why I rarely participate on the religion forum. I'm a 5-point Calvinist, but I find that although I disagree with parts of their theology, I have no reason to attack the Catholic or the Orthodox church. At the end of the day, we're on the same side and our differences in theology are family matters. Just as politics should end at the water's edge, theological differences should fade to inconsequentiality when faced with a common enemy.

[CharlesWayneCT]

It’s a lot harder to step up and defend your Church when you think repeating baseless and false claims against MY church helps your argument.

[chris_bdba]

I am a cradle Cathlci and have never ever heard anything said like that. Where did you get your info?