why are catholic priests the only ones being blamed for pedaphilia?

Question

it's not just them why are they in the spot-light ... on the news i see doctors, police officers, government officials ... and so on it happens in all careers and lifestyles... why put priest in the spot-light? is it the whole celibacy thing... plus the last time i've even herd of a case on the news was like 6 years ago and not only that not long ago there were 2 different christian pastors from my own city that were charged with child molestation... i don't hear that on the national news....? and don't say its because the vaticans trying to cover it up.

... because thats not the point even though it isn't true.

Answer 1

I don't think you got the answers you wanted.
Yes it is wrong just to blame the Priests when other Religions have done the same thing and they get away with it
I have not seen a good story about the Catholic Church from the media only bad things which is wrong because we do do a lot of good things. The media does not like the Catholic Church and because of them people don't like Catholics. I am a Catholic and proud to be a Catholic

God Bless You

Answer 2

There are several reasons why pedophile Catholic priests seem to make the news. First, the Catholic church is an international institution with a hierarchical structure. If a small town mayor is a sex offender, it's only going to be big news in that town. If a priest is a sex offender, there is a bishop over him, and ultimately the Pope. Second, because for a long time, at least in the US, the Catholic Church played a role in allowing the abuse to take place. Complaints against priests to law enforcement were turned over to the Church, which either did nothing or took only limited action. Offenders were moved to new parishes and the public was not warned over the allegations against them in their old location. Priests who went for counseling went to Church-affiliated centers that treated mostly priests and had a vested interest in saying that the offender was "cured" and not a risk. In many cases they went on to commit more crimes. When deals were made to make allegations go away, they included gag clauses that did not allow the victim to talk about. Monetary settlements were also made with Church funds outside of normal accounting channels. More recently, we see dioceses declaring bankruptcy and engaging in all sorts of evasive tactics to avoid responsibility for the actions of their own clergy. All this makes it look like the Catholic Church was (or is) more interested in defending its reputation than in helping its members who had been victimized by its own clergy. You ask "Is it the whole celibacy thing?". This is impossible to ignore, because there are no other professions that make abnormal sexual behavior mandatory for entry. As the National Council of Catholic Bishop's report on the issue states "certain sexually immature or conflicted individuals and certain homosexual men appear to have been attracted to the priesthood because they mistakenly viewed the requirement of celibacy as a means of avoiding struggles with their sexual identities. Other may have felt it provided them with "cover" -- a ready explanation why they were not married." Lastly, there is the scale of the problem. Again quoting the National Council of Catholic Bishop's report, "4% of priests who were in ministry between 1950 and 2002 have been accused of an act of sexual abuse against minors". 44% of those have two or more accusations, and 149 priests (3% of the accused) had 10 or more accusations against them. There are not too many non-criminal professions where 4% of the practitioners have been accused of a particular serious crime. We don't hear of 4% of dentists being accused of assault, or 4% of accountants accused of burglary. Also, 80% of the accusations were homosexual in nature -- exactly the reverse of the percentage in "normal" (i.e., non-priest) pedophiles. So it's hard for an outsider not to think there is something about the Catholic priesthood that makes it particularly likely to engage in homosexual child molestation. That's why they're in the spotlight.

Answer 3

After some priests were caught, many victims that had not come forward previously, went public. It's like all of the skeletons in the closet were revealed at once. The church handled the problem poorly over the years, and that added to the problem.

I don't think anybody could say that priests are more likely to commit this crime than any other religion. Let us just hope for the sake of the children that all organizations prevent this problem, and come out immediately when it happens

Answer 4

The reason why the Catholic priests made headlines was because it seemed to be common among priests and because there appeared to be a deliberate cover-up by the church. Besides that, priests are supposed to be the ultimate in trustworthiness. And I bet Mark Foley would argue your point about priests being the only ones blamed.

Answer 5

Many people bear a grudge against the Church - fair enough, but it shouldn't lead to selective reporting. You are dead right about this issue.

In my own opinion the left-leaning media have done children a horrendous and monstrous disservice by *almost* exclusively targeting Catholic clergy. By all means, let the guilty be exposed. Even further, expose those who cover up for the perpetrators of evil. But finally, expose EVERY case of child physical and sexual abuse even handedly, otherwise the public will get the impression that this is mainly a Catholic/celibacy thing (which I believe has happened and by design) and not be aware of the dangers to children in so many, many other situations. By targeting the Catholic clergy the left-leaning media have sold out our children to paedophiles, perverts and ephebophiliacs hiding in a huge number of othe walks of life.

EXPOSE THEM ALL!!!

Answer 6

There were some Cardinals that did cover it up for a-while.

They are gone now and the Catholic Church has embraced and education programs designed to educate ALL Catholic people who work with kids along with a complete background check of volunteers.

Instances of pedophilia are no higher among Catholic Priests than among the general population.

But Priests are held to a higher standard, which they should be.

Anti-Catholics use this to bash the Church, at times very unfairly.

We are all humans and subject to sin. People should not expect Christians, even Priests to be perfect.

Parents should use common sense with their kids around any adult.

Good Luck and God Bless!

Peace

Answer 7

The New Testament is full of exhortations and warnings about false teachers and prophets who will seek to lead the church.

Matt. 7:15-16, “15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Total number sexual abuse by catholic priests accurate victims estimate will probably never be known.

The percentage of Roman Catholic priests who abuse is much greater than for other Christian and non-Christian religious leaders from gurus, imams, ministers, pastors, priests, priestesses, rabbis, etc.

Catholic Church is the epicenter of an abuse scandal that has brought national attention to the issue of ped@phile priests.

With so many homosexual and ped@phile priests in it's employ, the Vatican is constantly looking for ways to cover for these perverts.

No other religious institution ever has spent so much money to indemnify such widespread debauchery perpetrated by so many of its own officials.

Despite the deceitful works of these savage wolves, the power of the Holy Spirit is tearing down the lie and exposing the father of lies and his sorry disciples.

Payouts to sex victims of Roman Catholic priests over the past three years alone passed the billion-dollar mark.

Answer 8

The point is that priests are supposed to represent goodness, and God's word. When someone who dedicates his life to upholding God's word breaks that same word, it is considered heretical or blasphemous. When someone else does it, it still makes the news, but is not as earth-shattering because society looks at most other lifestyles as fallible, whereas priests doing God's work should not succumb to temptations of the body.

Answer 9

Because at one time the catholic church, was considered inviolate, the priests and nuns were considered holy, in otherwords, they were viewed like people used to view God, they would do no wrong. And if they did, yes it was covered up, and hush-hushed. No one dared to speak up, and if they did they were excumunicated, even murdered. Read into the history of the church, . Now the church is finally been seen for what it is, a white cup full of excrement, and blood.

Answer 10

Because there was indeed a church cover up. Cardinals knew of what was going on and simply moved the priests to a different church. That is not as likely to happen anywhere else.