For a more detailed report about
sexual abuse cases in the RCC in the USA, see:

http://www.answers.com/topic/john-jay-report

For a more detailed report on the global situation, see:

http://www.answers.com/topic/roman-catholic-sex-abuse-cases?method=26&initiator=CANS

For details on sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist convention, see:

www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948_1861760_1862212,00.html#ixzz0jg0lEyZj

For details on sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts, see:

www.ocregister.com/news/ordered-245722-abuse-oregon.html

For details about sexual abuse in Judaism, see:

www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi.../when-priests-and-rabbis-c_b_516386.html

and

www.eutimes.net/category/criticism/pedophilia

For details on sexual abuse in the Jehovah Witnesses, see:

www.eutimes.net/category/criticism/pedophilia

For a studies on pedophilia in the general population, see

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia

and

www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Pedophilia.html#ixzz0iQulgGTp

Meanwhile, Ratzinger and his lawyers demonstrate their "profound personal anguish" by trying to weasel their way out of court claiming Bishops aren't really employees of the Pope.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/18/AR2010051801892_2.html?hpid=sec-religion

In part:

The Vatican filed a motion to dismiss one such suit in Kentucky on Monday, arguing in part that bishops aren't Vatican employees and that Rome therefore can't be held liable for their actions.

Hamilton, a lawyer for victims, cited recently revealed documentation in the case of a Milwaukee priest, the Rev. Lawrence Murphy, who allegedly abused up to 200 deaf boys from 1950 to 1974. The files are the basis for the latest lawsuit targeting the Holy See.

Correspondence between the diocese and Rome shows how the bishop tried to bring a canonical trial against Murphy, wrote letters to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now the pope, seeking guidance on how to proceed but was eventually told to stop the trial by Ratzinger's deputy after Murphy said he was old and ill and just wanted to die a priest.

The bishop, she said, "was literally an agent or an employee of their (Rome's) decision making."

Mr. Stevens-Arroyo articulated what I've long believed. Benedict is capable of softening his approach.

To summarize once again:

Why did today's pope, prelates, preachers and rabbis, so focused on society's sexual sins, lose sight of clerical sexual sins?
"
FEAR, SHAME and GUILT and COVER IT ALL UP!!!

Obviously ordination in any religion is not assurance of good behavior !!!!!

Neither is coronation!!! e.g. Henry VIII, King David.

Neither is marriage as 50% of those men convicted of pedophilia are married.

Neither is being elected president of the USA!! e.g. Billy "I did not have sex with that girl" Clinton, John "Marilyn Monroe" Kennedy"

Neither is possessing super athletic skill!!! e.g. Tiger "I am so sorry for getting caught" Woods.

Neither is being an atheist or pagan since pedophilia is present in all walks of life.

If someone is guilty of a crime in this litany of "neithers" they should or should have been penalized as the law dictates to include jail terms for pedophiliacs (priests, rabbis, evangelicals, boy scout leaders, married men/women), divorce for adultery (Clinton, Kennedy, Woods), jail terms for obstruction of justice (Clinton, Cardinal Law) and the death penalty or life in prison for murder ("Kings David and Henry VIII).

Devoted but highly educated lay people like Charles Silver and Filomela Klorotis are disappointed with their church. However, they did not lose their faith and they expect accountability. It is their belief that the enormity of the sexual abuse scandals will eventually ease the pope and his septuagenarian and octogenarian colleagues on out of office. Silver, in particular, thinks that more than change of leadership is necessary to halt the current hemorrhaging. As an experienced international management specialist, he would recommend a change of mentality and organizational culture, in addition to the early retirement of the Vatican's present gerontocracy. "It is not a question of reform," Silver says; "it is a requisite for institutional survival."

It's good, of course, that the pope has finally decided to not give credence to the right wing of the church. But much of the problem still lies with the pope. It was he who originally said it was a homosexual problem, and the writer here continues to give credence to that claim, which is not only a rediculous claim, but also takes the focus off of where it needs to be. The pope also waited a long time before discounting the "media is the problem" argument - I suppose he was waiting to see whether it worked. Now here we have a third round - "the problem is sin in the church." Well, duh.

The pope has still not taken responsibility for the problem, and has not begun to take the important steps needed to resolve the problem. First, there needs to be an apology on behalf of the church to the victims - to say that, yes, we were more concerned about how we looked to the world, than we were about caring for the body of Christ. And to say that the problem is not with "sin in the church," but sin in the heirarchy of the church, from the top down. Second, there needs to be a policy set in place to increase accountability, including transparency, from the top down. Such a policy acknowleges that we are "simul justus et peccatur," both saints and sinners, who need to be held accountable, whoever we are, so that such things are brought to light, and not glossed over.

Policies that protect people from abuse have to be put in place across the whole church, much like those that have finally been put in place in the United States. It does not matter what the local laws are - the church needs to go far beyond them, to ensure that those who are vulnerable are not abused. Not only the RC church in the United States, but also other church bodies, have youth protection policies in place now that serve as good models. It also needs to be s.o.p. that Civil authorities are immediately brought in when it appears that an incident has taken place.

Finally, it must be clear, from the top down, that such things will not be tolerated in the church. A pope that keeps making excuses and points the finger around at others is not a good example. It's just "same old same old."

Why do people give any credence to this worthless ignorant bigot? This bigot claims "same sex marriage as a "dangerous and insidious" challenge to society .." and yet he blames the reports of pedophilia within his fiefdom as idle gossip. This malevolent, bigot ought to be run out of the town, both tarred & feathered.

What about the violation of civil law? What is sin? What right does man have to make a rule violation to be sin? The RCC has made many such rules that if violated is SIN for the purpose of CONTROL the membership by way of GUILT. Yet the administration of the RCC is above honesty,civil law and sin on the cover up of TRUTH to protect the IMAGE in the sexual abuse cases of CHILDREN. Just where are the RCC administraters coming from? They want to blame all but them selfs. The pope's old job as cardinal where as at that desk is where all the dots cross before past on to the pope. All RCC administraters that are in way of the cover up of TRUTH to protect the IMAGE MUST RESIGN from top to bottom no matter who. All religious that commit the act of sexual abuse of a child must be totally put out of religious life. Thoes RCs that do not want to hear about these sexual abuse cases of children and the crime of cover up are part of the problem in the RCC. Yes the RCC can do wrong and has in the past as well as present yet there are many good people in religious life. IT IS TIME FOR A NEW POPE AND THEN VATICAN III TO TURN THE RCC AROUND. If not, watch the young people vote with their feet.

A few minutes ago, I saw an article where the ".. Pope condemned same sex marriage as a "dangerous and insidious" challenge to society .."

This means that the Evil that caused the Church's "Down Fall" is his subconscious slip blaming the Homosexual menace within and for the near destruction of the Universe (Church).

Great first step......

only if it's followed by turning over known pervert priests to civil authorities world wide.

Otherwise, it's just last ditch desperation now that blaming everyone else including the victims only made this PR mess worse.