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[Jude]

We in the Philippines are kinda chill about it thought. I mean, for some reason our Priests aren't prone to this sort of thing at all.

50 years ago anybody in the US would have said the same thing...how much do you trust your priests

*ominous music*

[Vester]

Don't worry. Our clergy is too busy with politics to molest children.

[RedKing]

Look out, the priest has a knife in his hand!

OH GOD THATS NOT A KNIFE

[Vester]

I fear to ask what it is.

[ChairmanPoo]

Note how the other "problems" mentioned are homosexuality and affairs. Our priests have outlets other than altar boys.

So do the western priests. Or did you think that there are no hookers in occident?

By the way, the point of that article is that it proves that such things DO happen in the Philippines. You were under the impression that they didn't. Now you see that it isn't so. As it happens, Philippine priests are not singled out from among all God's Nations to be the only untainted ones.

(and also there are some pedophiles. but we have less.)

I doubt it.

Our clergy is too busy with politics to molest children.

Priests are more than able to do both.

You see, pedophilia is not some consequence of chastity (that's a bullshˇt justification attempt, in my book, just like the claim that if a man doesn't get laid regularly he resorts to rape), or some kind of lifestyle choice, or any other lame Freudian attempt of an excuse. There are people who are pedophiles. Pedophiles are sick mofos, and should be kept away from children. End of story.

The problem is not that, for some magical reason, there are more pedophiles in the CC than elsewhere (because there aren't). The problem is that the hierarchy decided to hush it up to avoid an scandal AND they didn't even have the good judgement to shift the suspects to some position in which they didn't have contact with children

[fenrif]

Well, being a priest probobly doesn't cause pedophillia, but you cant deny that telling someone they can't ever get laid, or have a wank, or get any sexual release will have adverse effects on their mind. It's like if you tell someone they cant eat, or even taste food. It's gonna mess them up in a big way.

[Vester]

We do have less. Numerically.

The problem is not that, for some magical reason, there are more pedophiles in the CC than elsewhere (because there aren't). The problem is that the hierarchy decided to hush it up to avoid an scandal AND they didn't even have the good judgement to shift the suspects to some position in which they didn't have contact with children

The reason isn't magical, of course. It's just that the churches that employ altar boys put said boys in a position of danger, that allows pedophiles to exploit them. It's a problem of location.

Note how the other "problems" mentioned are homosexuality and affairs. Our priests have outlets other than altar boys.

So do the western priests. Or did you think that there are no hookers in occident?

By the way, the point of that article is that it proves that such things DO happen in the Philippines. You were under the impression that they didn't. Now you see that it isn't so. As it happens, Philippine priests are not singled out from among all God's Nations to be the only untainted ones.

We have a burgeoning illegal sex tourism industry. Of course I'm not under this impression. I did say (and pardon my phrasing) that we were more chill about it. Unlike, say, the Irish, we aren't "leaving the Church in droves". The general reaction is, "Priests molesting children. Oh dear."

[ChairmanPoo]

AFAIK most cases of molestation are involve school pupils, rather than altar boys.

I'd like to exploit this occasion to confess that I am not very sure of what does an altar boy do, but a priori I assume that it's just mass related stuff. I would think that in fact there is more risk in a school setting than as an altar boy.

[Vester]

Hum.. There are several that are attached to parishes, and are associated with the local church, but not quite owned by the church (government funding). Church-associated teachers tend to be nuns; if there are priests they normally take an administrative role rather than a classroom one.

Priests only take a large role in education when it comes to college (for example, the former Dean of Physics at my university is a Jesuit priest named Dan McNamara).

[RedKing]

I would think that in fact there is more risk in a school setting than as an altar boy.

Yes, and no. An altar boy is basically a helper for the ceremonial parts (lighting and extinguishing candles, bearing the processional cross, etc.). Think of it as a religious stage hand.

As such, they have a fair amount of time alone with the priest as they prepare for religious services or after services. And much of this time is when other parishioners aren't present.

I was a Lutheran acolyte in my youth (their version of an altar boy), and I can see where there would be a lot of opportunities for a lecherous priest. Compounded with that is the fact that the priest is something of a "father figure" and authority figure, so there's a built-in pressure not to report. Also, it was not uncommon for altar boys to have some intent towards entering the priesthood themselves when they got older. Exposing a priest is not a good start to gaining admission to the priesthood.

[Leafsnail]

According to the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, about 200 of the country's 7,000 priests may have committed "sexual misconduct" - including child abuse, homosexuality and affairs - over the past two decades.

Certainly, it seems like a small number, but this is an estimate from the catholic church, after all.

The general complaint about the chastity laws isn't that they cause paedophilia - it's that they attract paedophiles.  If you're having strange urges and are confused about your sexuality, going into an institution that requires you to always avoid sex makes sense from a psychological perspective.  And the fact that you're suddenly under the wing of a massive international body that's immune to the law must be a plus too.

[Toady Two]

That is probably the case.

I imagine the link between celibacy and pedophilia is as follows: 18-19 year old men that feels no lust for women might mistake that for a calling to priesthood.

Later on they find out that it was not the case... but they are already in church, making sort of a career. That is when they fall under the temptation to start an affair. If their lack of interest in mature women was caused by pedophilia then now they are a risk to the youth they have contact with.

The way the media portrait this is that celibacy directly causes straight priests to molest. That is utter nonsense.

[Grakelin]

Sociological studies have shown that less than 1% of Catholic priests are pedophiles. I think a far greater number of them were homosexuals, though I would have to check to make sure.

The Pope actually has a point when he says the Church gets smeared by the media quite a bit. We make such a big deal when it happens that we think it happens all the time.

[Jude]

The problem is not that, for some magical reason, there are more pedophiles in the CC than elsewhere (because there aren't).

There actually probably are, for reasons I mentioned a couple pages back

Think about what type of person would be attracted to a profession that requires them to never touch a woman

Of course of all the ones that are gay/pedophiles/whatever else, the vast majority probably still don't act on it

[ChairmanPoo]

There actually probably are, for reasons I mentioned a couple pages back

[citation needed]

(What I mean is that you should not lob such a serious accusation basing yourself in Wild Mass Guessing. "So, yeah, since probably celibacy attracts pedophiles because maybe when they are teens they don't feel attracted towards women and thus probably think that it means that they should become priests..." and the like are anything but hard facts. AKA: The reasoning might have more or less merit, but in trying to establish it as "probable" you are pulling a Freud