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[Kepler]

"WASHINGTON -- Researchers commissioned by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops to analyze the pattern of clergy sex abuse over decades have concluded that homosexuality, celibacy and an all-male priesthood did not cause the scandal.

"The report from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York said about 44 percent of the known abuse cases involved priests who were ordained in the 1940s and 1950s, at a time when seminaries did not properly train them to live a celibate life. These men were not equipped to withstand the social upheaval of the 1960s, which was a time of an increase in sexual deviancy and a spike in crime in society at large, the authors said....

"The John Jay researchers, however, said that the offenders chose boys mainly because the clergy had greater access to them. According to the researchers, abuse cases peaked in the 1970s, then began declining sharply in 1985, following a similar trajectory for the rate of abuse in society at large....

"The researchers, however, said they found no 'psychological characteristics' or 'developmental histories' that distinguished guilty priests from clergy who did not molest children....

"Although the victims studied by the researchers were all legally minors, the authors said only a tiny percentage of accused priests -- less than 5 percent -- could be technically defined as pedophiles. The John Jay researchers define pedophile as an adult with an intense sexual attraction to prepubescent children. However, victim advocates have disputed that classification, since boys ages 10-14 were the largest group of known victims, which could include children who had not yet gone through adolescence.

"Critics argue the study cannot be trusted since the raw data was provided by the bishops....

"The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said the study is useless for protecting children because the focus is on priests, not bishops. No bishops have been disciplined by the pope for keeping offenders in ministry without warning parents or police."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18083643?nclick_check=1

[catman]

Before the social upheavals of the 1960's sex was too taboo to discuss, and religous authority was more powerful in the Catholic Church.

The "social upheavals" created an environment where the reality of sexual abuse could eventually be acknowledged.

Imagine how many pedophile priests there were back in the good ol days.

[ED209]

This is a distraction from the real crime. An institution that acted to protect perpetrators and the Church's image over the interests of the victims.

This study does little to restore faith in the Church as an institution where children are safe.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

There could be no institution on Earth more worthy of doing away with completely, so as to leave no trace, than the Church.

[caniff]

[Fox]