Interesting take on the problem of clergy sexual abuse within the RCC:
Very interesting article for about 8-10 minutes of your time if you can read it and her perspective is one I haven't really considered in depth.
The writer then distinguishes between pederasty and pedophilia:Quote:
The editorial board of the New York Times declared it had identified the source of "The Catholic Church's Unholy Stain." It names pedophilia and asks: "How have so many pedophiles been allowed into the priesthood?"
The question was purely rhetorical because the board had an answer ready. It cited the usual grounds: "the all-male priesthood and the celibacy imposed on Catholic priests; the elitism, careerism and clericalism of the church hierarchy; the lack of transparency or accountability among bishops." Most damning is "the power a man of God has over a child."
But she goes further with rather scathing language about society's unconditional acceptance of homosexuality:Quote:
With few exceptions, sexual abuse by priests has been visited overwhelmingly upon pubescent boys, and young men, most often teenagers. This is pederasty, not pedophilia. And pederasty is endemic to gay culture. (For an unsparing indictment of that culture by a gay man, read Jason Hill's "Loveless, Narcissistic Sex Addicts" in The Federalist.)
And she debunks the idea that celibacy is the root cause of sexual misconduct:Quote:
Homosexuality has been normalized, officially approved, ratified, and okayed. Since the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the roster of mental disorders in 1973, activists have parlayed homosexuals into a protected species, more like black rhinos or orangutans than moral beings. The church's ancient description of homosexuality as an "objective disorder" is dismissed as the last gasp of the 19th-century Society for the Suppression of Vice.
https://thefederalist.com/2018/09/28/pedophilia-isnt-main-problem-catholic-priests-homosexuality/Quote:
Priestly celibacy is both a free choice and a free gift.
Unchosen celibacy, by contrast, is the condition of many menand womenwho are celibate by happenstance: no opportunity for marriage presented itself; marriage was disallowed by health problems, disability, or disfigurement; a spouse was removed by divorce or death. Many single people live without alternative. Yet no one would be so doltish as to believe unsought singlehood leads to rapacity.
Just so, it is grossly simplistic to present marriage as a cure for sexual predation. Andrew Greeley, both priest and sociologist, was a passionate, outspoken advocate for victims of abusive priests. No naf, Greeley was also a vigorous defender of the celibate life: "Anyone who thinks that marriage or sexual relations solve many male (or female) problems has not paid much attention to the human condition."
Very interesting article for about 8-10 minutes of your time if you can read it and her perspective is one I haven't really considered in depth.
