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old old red herring which you bring up with predictable regularity - however other protestants would not agree:

” Penn State professor Philip Jenkins (who is not a Catholic) has written the most objective book on the subject, and he summarizes his arguments in this excellent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The Myth of the Pedophile Priest” (Link)

His findings can be summarized as follows:

Priestly celibacy is not the issue – married men are more likely to abuse children than unmarried
Most child abuse takes place within the home.
All religious groups have pedophile scandals, and the
Catholics (while the largest religious group) are at the bottom of the list statistically.
Child abuse is prevalent in all areas of society: schools, youth organizations, sports, etc.
Statistically, of all the professions, clergy are least likely to offend. Doctors, Farmers and Teachers are the professions most likely to abuse children–not clergy.
Among clergy offenders Catholic priests are least likely to offend.
Catholic cases of pedophilia make more headlines because of anti Catholic prejudice and because the Catholic Church is bigger and more lucractive to sue.

Mind you, this is not to deny that pedophilia, wherever found, is a depraved and disgusting act. Particularly so when the offender IS a priest, a group from which we have a right to expect the absolute highest standards. However, Philip Jenkins found, based on his own research and the comprehensive John Jay College of Criminal Justice study, that less than 1.8% of Catholic priests were ever implicated in any category of sexual misdeed -— in other words, over 98% were (and are) innocent.
These are the facts. Which should be important, to those who seek a fact-based view of this problem. “

For the Greater Glory of God