predation

The National Catholic Register is running an editorial talking about the sex abuse crisis facing the Church, and the upcoming (current?) look at the seminaries.^[1] It talks about the misrepresentation of the crisis in the media, showing that the majority (it cites 81%) of the abuse was of teen-aged boys, not children at all. Naturally even 1% of the abuse being child abuse is unacceptably high, much less 19%. I sincerely hope that as they address the (also unacceptable) majority of the abuse, by focusing on homosexuality in the priesthood, they do not neglect the rest. But I cannot fault them for looking to a solution at the root of 81% of the abuse.

Admittedly, I have not paid much attention to the song "YMCA," but I have not noted the homosexuality in it. Perhaps it is there, and I have simply missed it. Mom has surely missed significantly more in a song with a good beat. I am sure, though, that for every study and statistic that the Register could have cited in support of its position, that the liberals could raise some other study. Evaluating which is more accurate is not something I am going to spend time doing. For myself, suffice it to say that I tend to trust the Register enough to go with its statistics and studies.

Taking it as a given then that the Register's two statistics are correct, that 81% of the abuse was homosexual in nature and not pedophilia, and that 73% of homosexuals will abuse teens, the focus on homosexuality in the priesthood makes sense. Mom worries that a number of good men will be excluded. William has been given justifications along the lines of "Part of being a priest is embracing celibacy for the sake of their ministry, while a homosexual is called to give it period." This creates a difference, is it sufficient? Such a call is beyond me. Yet we do see that a non-trivial number of priests have and perhaps still do tell their parishioners things that are not in accord with Catholic Doctrine. That they do not believe in the Real Presence, they do not condemn birth control, and other issues. Perhaps such a drastic step as this is necessary to handle both the crisis of abuse, and the problems of a clergy that does not teach as they should. I do not know.