runner: <"That may well be true however you ignore that the topic is about perverted Catholic Priests who predominantly fiddle with and sodomize young boys. This is homosexual not heterosexual behaviour by anyone's definition.">

Yikes the glee in use of those verbs! Homophobia is leading your gaze away from the bigger problem. IMO any child abuser in the Church should be subject to the same (inadequate) laws as child molesters anywhere.

However one of my concerns with the paedophile priests biz has been that the bigger and more newsy the issue becomes, the more people will cling to the comforting idea that child abuse is something rare that happens 'out there' and not right amongst us all irrespective of religious affiliation.

Runner, regardless of what you want to believe about homosexuals, child molesters with a penchant for children will molest whatever child is most available to them. Don't forget that girls were molested too; or that priests had most access to male children.

Recent studies have shown that, when fear of further charges being laid is removed, child molesters have admitted under polygraph (repeatedly) that they male and female victims are close to 50/50.
(You can find the Hindmarsh (?Hindemarsh) study online - US Correctional services site or something like that).

You can't tell the sexual orientation of an abuser by the sex of the victim. A dozen elderly men yearly are raped; male on male rape and abuse is far from infrequent - yet the vast majority of those rapists identify as heterosexual. Same with child abusers. Rapists and abusers will generally make do with anyone they can get to who is vulnerable.

There are clinical aspects of the use of definitions and debates about the finer points, but however it's summed up - homosexuals are less inclined to child sexual abuse than are heterosexuals. Also, strictly speaking, a paedophile doesn't have a hetero or homo sexual orientation. Anyway, it's better explained here:

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/HTML/facts_molestation.html

Btw: Are you as fervently opposed to child sexual abuse that occurs in families of all social stratae ? What are you doing towards that?

I have stumbled on a possible solution to the abuse of children by so-called "celebate" priests. Wanna hear it?
Well,you are gonna whether u want to or not.
Ready?

Why not encourage mass masturbation. Special courses could be run in seminaries then at least the poor little and not so little innocent children could be spared.
Take it off the list of sins.It isnt a sin,anyway.
Or are they already doing it,anyway.
Just a long shot.

socratease

*That is why they ignore obvious links between homosexuality and child abuse.*

Runner, I guess the really interesting question is the link between
religion and child abuse.

When I was at school, it was Baptists doing the fiddling. More recently I recall
a Channel 9 documentary about Jehovas Witnesses covering up,
commonly young girls were the victims.

Think of all the Christian cults where young girls have been
the victims. Claiming its "gods will" is how they get away
with it.

It could be happening right there in your cult, runner

pynchme,
"however it's summed up - homosexuals are less inclined to child sexual abuse than are heterosexuals"!
In the face of overwhelming statistical evidence to the contrary you can rattle off a baseless lie.
Your chutzpah is breathtaking!
But I suppose you think you know better than Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, who has had to look at more than 10,000 cases which overwhelming involved homosexual assault by clergy on adolescent boys.
And what does he have to say?
"many (psychologists and psychiatrists) have demonstrated, and have told me recently,
that there is a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia".
But what would he know?
He just has access to the relevant facts on a multitude of cases and advice from multiple experts,
whereas you...
have the blog of Gregory Herek, homosexual activist.
Those rainbows in their URL's give them away everytime.

Proxy, no I would never believe a lay-person who tries to dabble in psychiatry- no matter whether they are a Bishop or whatever!
I would rather believe the words of the American Psychiatric Association, because they have studied their field for many years, with proper scientific detail that is not determined by religious beliefs and bigotry.

http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html#mentalillness

"In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association confirmed the importance
of the new, better designed research and removed homosexuality from
the official manual that lists mental and emotional disorders. Two
years later, the American Psychological Association passed a
resolution supporting the removal. For more than 25 years, both
associations have urged all mental health professionals to help dispel
the stigma of mental illness that some people still associate with
homosexual orientation."

"Pedophilia, on the other hand, is considered by these scientists to
constitute a mental disorder:
The American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)
criteria for Pedophilia (302.2):
" A. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually
arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual
activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years
or younger);
B. The person has acted on these sexual urges, or the sexual urges or
fantasies cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty;
C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older
than the child or children in Criterion A."

This criteria for Paedophilia says nothing about paedophiles having homosexual thoughts or tendencies at all Proxy.
Why not look up and read scientific, knowledgeable sites on this subject that are untarnished by religious beliefs?
You might be enlightened.

Dear Suze,

I agree - " as long as the process is consistent with
due process and fairness not only to the alleged
victims but to the accused as well..."