This link will help explain more of what the Vatican has been doing to combat these problems:
A Response to the NY Times Article on Pope Benedict's handling of the abuse problems.
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***UPDATE***:
Father Z takes the anger angle. I know a rant is hard to read... but he summarizes the anger than many Catholics feel at this. We are torn in both directions. We are hurt and angered by the abuse that occurred by men of the cloth... and we are hurt that the media is using it in a way to discredit the Church and the Faith, not just those who committed these acts.
Read Father Z's Article here:
"I am angry and sad about this new round of exposure of sins and crimes..."
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So with the two articles above... we need to look at how this is being handled by the media as well. To combat evil, we must use truth. If we don't we are only throwing fuel on a fire. We must get to the root of these issues... and I can tell you the problem is not unmarried clergy, cover-ups by the Pope, or anything like that.
Many blogs have linked to this already. But I think it needs to be out there. This is not an attempt to marginalize or rationalize what has occurred. Quite the opposite. This is a search for the truth... and we can not achieve the truth unless we are truly seeking it.
The rest of this post is from Father Longeneck's Blog Post: The Myth of Pedophile Priests
As more pedophile priest scandals blow up across Europe we should be ashamed of the offenders and those who sheltered them and oppressed the victims. The guilty should be weeded out, removed from office and handed over to the civil authorities where they are guilty of crimes. Systems to avoid abuse must be established and rigorously maintained, and victims should be justly compensated for their suffering.As a father, I don't know what I would do if my child were ever victimized. I prayed about this post long and hard tonight at Adoration. It was pressed upon my heart that our Church and our Faith is under attack right now, and we must be willing to talk in "TRUTHS" whenever possible. There is a lot of misinformation out there distorting this subject, especially in the mass American media.
However, 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 light of his work, we should remember some basic facts and principles:
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, Christian 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.
Pedophilia and Euphebophilia are different problems. The former is sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. The latter is attraction to teenagers. Most cases branded 'pedophila' are actually 'euphebophila.'
Most of the cases of euphebophilia are homosexual in nature, however the politically correct do not want this problem to be associated with homosexuality.
The number of Catholic priests guilty of pedophilia is very small.
What we now call 'cover up' was often done in a different cultural context, when the problem was not fully understood and when all establishment organizations hushed scandals. They did so for what seemed good reasons at the time: protection of the victims and their families, opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender, the avoidance of scandal to others. It is unfair to judge events thirty years ago by today's standards.
When lawsuits are looming people smell money. We must be wary of false accusations.
The accused must be entitled to a fair hearing. The church should insist on hard proof of the abuse, and for the sake of justice, ensure that the innocent are not prosecuted.
When guilt is established the offender must be punished, not sheltered.
Distinctions must be made between types of abuse. Some offenses are worse than others. Verbal abuse or corporal punishment during a time when that was acceptable, while lamentable, is not the same as sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse.
Sexual abuse of an adult, or a sexually experienced older teenager is wrong, and damaging, and should be punished, but it is not the same as the sexual abuse of a younger, innocent child.
Number of offenses must be considered. One lapse is not of the same seriousness as repeated, persistent and premeditated offenses.
I am in no way wishing to be soft of pedophiles and those who covered for them, however justice and truth demand an objective analysis of the facts.
Don't get me wrong. There are problems; serious, horrible, heinous, grievous, and despicable acts occurred at the hands of men who claimed to be chosen and consecrated by God to lead us to Heaven. That does not give the media the right to sensationalize and distort the truth, in an attempt to somehow taint or tear down Holy Mother Church because some men, fallible humans, sinned in some horrible way.
The way I think about it is this... we don't detest all GERMANS today because of Hitler, we detest Nazi's. So too we must not indict the Church because of these abuses, we must indict the perpetrators. In the meantime, it is up to us as Catholics to pray for the victims, the Church and the Pope. If this does not make it clear that we are in a REAL BATTLE against EVIL, then I do not know what will convince you. The Devil has found the perfect vehicle in which to attack the Church, and we must not let him win... not one small battle!
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