Equal treatment is not unfair

The treatment is not equal. The recent allegations stem from abuse cases that are 20-40 years old. If the treatment was fair, we would have people clamoring to remove the head of the Teacher's Union and NEA over the rampant sexual abuse in public schools. Students are regularly harassed by teachers, and often the only punishment is to force them to find another job in another school district. Why aren't school superintendents being dragged on the carpet over this?

The reason is that lawyers have caps on what they can recover from public schools and it is so much easier to demonize the Catholic Church for abuse that occurred decades ago than to address today's problems in the public schools.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102100144.html

Report suspicious sexual behavior by priests, preachers, evangelicals, rabbis, imams, atheists, secularists, journalists and/or bloggers to the FBI, the US Attorney or the National Child Abuse Hotline:

http://www.childhelp.org/pages/hotline

1-800-4-A-CHILD

"It is my contention, admittedly biased, that pedophilia in the Catholic Church is a direct result of the requirement of celibacy for Catholic priests, and the refusal to permit women priests. It is certain that most men with normal sexual appetites would be reluctant to become a priest, whereas young men with a deviant urge for young boys would see the priesthood as a perfect arena in which to use their authority to intimidate and abuse them. This behavior does indeed go back centuries - read the Marquis de Sade. Fundamental change is needed in the Catholic church, but if the brutal excesses of the Inquisition did not change things, this won't either.
Posted by: freethoug"

Great work, Freethought!

I quoted you here!! Finally, someone else picked up on the main perquisite offered by the Catholic Church:
"If you don't have the looks or loot to compete for the lovely lads, join the Catholics and partake at will!! Some priest-work required. This offer limited to men only. Healthcare, food, lodging, Cadillac, domestic help, cool robes included! Apply today!!"

---Catholic Services Management Group. Visit us on the Web!

"It is my contention, admittedly biased, that pedophilia in the Catholic Church is a direct result of the requirement of celibacy for Catholic priests, and the refusal to permit women priests. It is certain that most men with normal sexual appetites would be reluctant to become a priest, whereas young men with a deviant urge for young boys would see the priesthood as a perfect arena in which to use their authority to intimidate and abuse them. This behavior does indeed go back centuries - read the Marquis de Sade. Fundamental change is needed in the Catholic church, but if the brutal excesses of the Inquisition did not change things, this won't either.
Posted by: freethoug"

Great work, Freethought!

I quoted you here!! Finally, someone else picked up on the main perquisite offered by the Catholic Church:
"If you don't have the looks or loot to compete for the lovely lads, join the Catholics and partake at will!! Some priest-work required. This offer limited to men only. Healthcare, food, lodging, Cadillac, domestic help, cool robes included! Apply today!!"

---Catholic Services Management Group. Visit us on the Web!

Considering that you never see the major media coverage about the sex abuse problems in Judaism, the Jehovah Witnessess and the Southern Baptist Convention, yes indeed there is an anti-Vatican bias in the media.

e.g.:

From:

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

“Facing calls to curb child sex abuse within its churches, in June the Southern Baptist Convention — the largest U.S. religious body after the Catholic Church — urged local hiring committees to conduct federal background checks but rejected a proposal to create a central database of staff and clergy who have been either convicted of or indicted on charges of molesting minors. The SBC decided against such a database in part because its principle of local autonomy means it cannot compel individual churches to report any information. And while the headlines regarding churches and pedophilia remain largely focused on Catholic parishes, the lack of hierarchical structure and systematized record-keeping in most Protestant churches makes it harder not only for church leaders to impose standards, but for interested parties to track allegations of abuse.

www.eutimes.net/category/criticism/pedophilia/

"Yet another prominent Orthodox rabbi has been charged with sexual abuse. This time it is Rabbi Mordechai Elon, one of the foremost rabbinic leaders of the Israeli Orthodox movement and former rosh yeshiva at the flagship Yeshivat HaRav, where last year a Palestinian mounted an assault which left several students dead. The result was that students of the yeshiva and other far right Jews went on a rampage and tried to burn down the home of the family of the perpetrator of the attack. Elon’s brother is Benny, a former MK for a far-right pro-settler party.

At one time the rabbi was so renowned he’d hoped to be named chief rabbi. Alas, that hope is all but dashed as he was charged several years ago with abusing boys at his yeshiva:"

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

On Faith: Is the media biased against the Catholic Church?
For at least the last half-century, Catholic Priests have been sexually assaulting and raping children. For at least a half-century the Catholic Church has been systematically attempting to cover it up and shield those responsible for these crimes from the law. Now after all this time people are speaking out in record numbers and the Vatican’s response is to blame the victims, blame the media, and blame the devil.

You can read the rest of my response to this topic:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-8928-Philadelphia-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m4d7-On-Faith-Is-the-media-biased-against-the-Catholic-Church

I will be responding to every issue posted in the 'On Faith' section. If you would like to be notified when my new response is up, please subscribe.

The criticism of the Catholic Church regarding the handling of sexual abuse within its ranks cannot be regarded as a media bias. The Vatican should be criticized, both for the actions of its pedophile priests and the inaction of the church leadership in adequately addressing this problem. That being said, there is a media bias toward the Catholic Church and religion in general.

It is inherently unfair to judge a child for the sins of the father. By this I mean that continuing to blame the modern day church for the excesses of the Crusades or the Inquisition is ridiculous. Show me any human institution that has survived for hundreds of years and I will show you moments it can be ashamed of. Yet many modern atheists and secularists continue to spit venom at the church for things in its distant past, while taking a much lighter tone for political or ethnic atrocities from the same periods.

Secondly, it is stupid to assume that the Catholic Church, or any other religious organization, exists to rubber-stamp or advocate any or all modern secular values. Since the Bible asks Christians to be sexually modest and defines one of the most important privileges and responsibilities of the marriage covenant as being reproduction, it would be hypocritical for the Vatican to promote the free love values we see in the media and much of secular America. Yet there is a call for the church to "modernize" its views so that they more closely mirror those of society. No. The goal of the church should be to help people be more like Jesus Christ, not more like Paris Hilton.

God is all-knowing and all-seeing. Because the Pope is believed by Catholics to be the representative of God on Earth, past pontiffs have mistakenly assumed that the Church must also be all-knowing and all-seeing - but that is not what men are. Benedict, stick to the mission and message that Jesus gave you. If you find people in the church whose weaknesses and failures show you that they are not "Of God", then cast them loose lest they undo the work He has given you to do. Know that God asks us to recognize evil and separate ourselves from it. And furthermore, do not feel the need to know things outside your God-given area of expertise. You are not here to be a scientist or politician, but a moral counselor and spiritual guide.

And finally, a reminder from history. The Protestant Reformation was a response to perceived abuses of authority by the Vatican. The secular world cannot lessen the Papacy or its authority. Only you, Benedict, can do that. I hope you find the courage to do better than your predecessors.

The real "anti-Catholic"s are church leaders who - through their actions and statements - promulgate the notion that the church is incapable of holding itself to the ethical and legal standards expected of others.

I agree completely with Professor Silverman. These abuses would have created an outrage had they occurred outside of the Catholic Church. The church should not receive any special treatment with regards to the law of the land.

As a Jew, I find the comparison between Nazi treatment of the Jews and press treatment of the Church to be odious. The press is seeking to protect the innocent and vulnerable against indefensible and selfish exploitation. What is unworthy about that? And what exactly was the worthy motive that caused the Nazis to persecute the Jews?

It is my contention, admittedly biased, that pedophilia in the Catholic Church is a direct result of the requirement of celibacy for Catholic priests, and the refusal to permit women priests. It is certain that most men with normal sexual appetites would be reluctant to become a priest, whereas young men with a deviant urge for young boys would see the priesthood as a perfect arena in which to use their authority to intimidate and abuse them. This behavior does indeed go back centuries - read the Marquis de Sade. Fundamental change is needed in the Catholic church, but if the brutal excesses of the Inquisition did not change things, this won't either.

If the Pope falls, the whole house of Catholic cards will crash. This is the first time in a long time (since Pope Pius XII was accused of not doing enough to thwart Nazis) the media is seriously questioning papal morality. Catholics believe the Pope has the ability and authority to speak for God, so questioning that moral authority is truly alarming to some. Go, media.

"Thank God", so to speak, for those who have chosen to be investigative journalists. Their diligence is helping all of us to become better informed--about religious abuses, political abuses, and social abuses.

The first (or last) bastion of an accused who has no defense is to criticize the accusers and/or third parties. The fact that the Church has not addressed these ongoing issues is in flagrant disregard to what they profess to believe - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Pathetic, disgusting...and indefensible.

"Church leaders... went on to complain about a "vile," anti-Vatican media campaign aimed at weakening the papacy and its authority."

I was unaware that the pope had any real (ie. not imagined) authority outside of Vatican City--certainly no authority to break the law or protect criminals.

I fail to see how these ongoing scandals surprise anyone or warrant anything more than a legal response. Have hype- will publish, I suppose.

If anything, the news media have been too lenient toward the Vatican. The church is only complaining because some of the undeniable facts about its actions are coming to light. That's not anti-Catholic, but the church wants to portray it that way.