A study was not needed to conclude that neither homosexuality nor celibacy is a cause for sexual abuse? The Catholic Church simply chose to have a study conducted for political reasons – so that its followers as well as critics looked upon the church favorably, as if they were being proactive in the matter; which they aren’t.
As I’m sure all will agree, there are millions of homosexuals who wouldn’t for a moment even remotely consider abusing a minor, or anyone else for that matter. And certainly there are vast numbers of people who simply don’t engage in sex, or rarely do, who also would never sexually molest others.
The reason that priests are sex offenders goes back centuries and is a rather complicated issue having to do with a lust for power along with certain specific character traits which many priests possess; in addition to several other factors. It’s no secret that the Catholic Church is full of sexual deviants. It is also no secret that church leaders have throughout history covered up abuses in an effort to avoid tarnishing the image of the church. This makes church leaders as guilty as the sex offenders themselves. Naturally they’re also hypocrites, but that’s a given; all senior Catholic Church officials are hypocrites.
One final comment; the public shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that only priests (and nuns) have sexually molested minors. There is no doubt that senior Catholic Church officials have also been guilty of this crime; but naturally, they’re not going to turn themselves in. It’s only a matter of time before allegations come forward against senior church officials… TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A study commissioned by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops concludes that neither the all-male celibate priesthood nor homosexuality caused the church’s sexual abuse crisis, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The five-year study says the abuse occurred because priests who were poorly prepared and monitored, and were under stress, landed amid the social and sexual turmoil of the 1960s and ’70s, according to the newspaper.
The “blame Woodstock” explanation has been floated by bishops for years but the study was likely to be regarded as the most authoritative analysis of the scandal in the Catholic Church in America, The Times reported.
Widespread abuse scandals involving Roman Catholic priests first erupted in Boston a decade ago, and the U.S. church has paid settlements totaling some $3 billion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops planned to release on Wednesday the report by researchers at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The researchers concluded that it was not possible for the church, or for anyone, to identify abusive priests in advance, according to the newspaper, which obtained an advance copy of the report.
The study concluded that many more boys than girls were victimized, not because the perpetrators were gay, but simply because the priests had more access to boys than to girls, the newspaper reported.
The Vatican has for years been struggling to control the damage that sexual abuse scandals in the United States and several European countries have done to the Church’s image.
On Monday, the Vatican told bishops around the world that they must make it a global priority to root out sexual abuse of children by priests.
The Roman Catholic Church said in a letter that bishops should cooperate with civil authorities to end the abuse
(Reporting by JoAnne Allen; editing by Doina Chiacu)
