And that if a person goes long enough without getting laid they'll become inclined to molest children? It's been several decades since I've been intimate with another human being and I'm still not the least bit drawn to kids sexually, and don't think I would be if I went another century without sex. And this idea that letting priests marry can prevent kids from being abused doesn't explain the alarming number of adult (mostly) males who commit these horrors in spite of being married and conventionally sexually active. I think it might be something about the culture of the Catholic Church, it's heirarchy and social philosophy that attracts pedophiles to their ranks, although I can't say what. I'm inclined to blame the PATRIARCHY, but then I blame them when I burn my toast...

And I suspect that despite all the cases in the news, the percentage of molester priests isn't much higher than any other religious or secular organization or professions that put adults in contact with children. And sadly the omerta situation that has the church covering for these monsters like they're more concerned with avoiding scandal than they are with the suffering of the victims isn't exclusive to Catholicism either. High schools do the same thing because, you know, football is so fucking imporant and Coach Pervo is gonna lead us to the finals.

Maybe the Catholics are just worse at covering it up; or maybe Protestants and such who do have kids don't get caught as often because they're violating their own sons and daughters, and can control them with guilt and fear ("If you tell it will destroy this family, and it will be YOUR fault-") into keeping silent about it. Saying the problem belongs mostly to that group over there (those Godless "anything goes" liberals; those repressed uptight hypocritical conservatives) and has nothing to do with anyone I know or can relate to in any way is a comforting fiction that allows us to see this crime most of us hate to even think about as something that's distant and alien; but it's a fiction that keeps kids at risk.

It's a fucked up situation but any solution that would keep kids completely safe would be horrible in its own way- a culture with rules regulating who gets to be around childrens that to me would be as messed up as Islam's separation of the genders under Sharia law and would have its own long term devastating consequences, making everyone even more paranoid and isolated than we already are. So don't be paranoid, but don't be stupid and lump the whole thing onto "those people" or believe there's a "type" that you can spot because they have a certain type of moustache or wear their pants too high. The one pedophile who confessed his proclivities to me (This was around 1988; he confessed his attraction to little girls but swore he was managing not to act on it...) seemed otherwise totally cool, was very handsome with great hair (so it wasn't a matter of not being able to bed an adult woman,) and I never would have guessed...
~hugs, Veronica