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No, all of the priests that molested children were pedophiles. The Roman Catholic Church, as an institution, requires celibacy of their priests and nuns. This is not a natural state for adult humans. As a profession, the priesthood in particular, attracts many individuals that have proclivities to begin with and, cultivates an atmosphere rife with intimacy issues. (IMO)
Yes they were pedophiles too. But sexual perversions of all sorts cause problems.
The celibacy rule isn't necessarily at fault, since at least 98 percent of priests are not pedophiles, leaving only 2 percent or less. There's more pedophiles in the schools than the Church.
A preliminary report commissioned by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops on the roots of the clergy sex abuse scandal found no evidence that gay priests are more likely than heterosexual clergy to molest children, the lead authors of the study said Tuesday.
The full report by researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice won't be completed until the end of next year. But the authors said that their evidence to date found no data indicating that homosexuality was a predictor of abuse.
"What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse," said Margaret Smith of John Jay College, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now."
The question has been raised repeatedly within and outside the church because the overwhelming majority of known victims were boys. As part of the church's response to the crisis, the Vatican ordered a review of all U.S. seminaries that, among other issues, looked for any "evidence of homosexuality" in the schools.
Yet, many experts on sex offenders reject any link between sexual orientation and committing abuse. Karen Terry, a John Jay researcher, said it was important to distinguish between sexual identity and behavior, and to look at who the offender had access to when seeking victims.
The bishops had commissioned the $2 million study as part of widespread reforms they enacted at the height of the abuse crisis. The scandal erupted in 2002 with the case of one predator priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread to every U.S. diocese and beyond.
Nearly 14,000 molestation claims have been filed against Catholic clergy since 1950, according to tallies the bishops have released in recent years. Abuse-related costs have reached at least $2.3 billion in the same period.
No, most of the priests who molested children turned out to be homosexuals.
Source please? A reputable one?
Like the John Jay researchers themselves (the report he refers to)- who say NO such thing.
This seems to be a habit amongst anti-gay religious conservatives. To refer to studies, distort the facts, and try to claim the opposite of what the scientists themselves conclude.
A classic example of this is an article by Timothy Dailey (PhD in Theology) from the Family Research Council which is referred to by many anti-gay websites as some sort of "well known expert study" which makes all sorts of lurid claims about homosexuals.
One of the scientists (A. Nicholas Groth) whose studies he referenced wrote to him:
“Since your report, in my view, misrepresents the facts of what we know about this matter from scientific investigation, and does not indicate that my studies on this topic reach conclusions diametrically opposed to yours, I would appreciate your removing any reference to my work in your paper lest it appear to the reader that my research supports your views.”
(Groth, A. Nicholas. Letter to Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D., Family Research Council. June 10, 2002. Included in the Human Rights Campaign’s press release dated June 14, 2002)
Bill Donohue has quoted and taken out of context a study conducted by John Jay College
Margaret Smith, a John Jay College criminologist*who worked*on the 2004 study on which Donohue based his conclusions. said that while Donohue "quoted the study's data correctly," he "drew an unwarranted conclusion" in asserting that most of the abusers were gay.
When a male has sexual relations of any sort with another male, by definition it's homosexual. That does not mean it's not also pedophilia. Most of these sex abuse incidents were male with male. Homosexual. This isn't that complicated to figure out...
There may be a well financed minority of people wishing to portray homosexuality as perfectly normal and acceptable, but that does not change the fact it's not.
When a male has sexual relations of any sort with another male, by definition it's homosexual. That does not mean it's not also pedophilia. Most of these sex abuse incidents were male with male. Homosexual. This isn't that complicated to figure out...
For many generations priests have had easier access to male children as they traditionally serve in the churches in more facets than female children.
For many generations priests have had easier access to male children as they traditionally serve in the churches in more facets than female children.
Females have served about as much in recent decades.
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