While I in no way want to minimize the pain and suffering experienced by the victims of priest-pedophilia, I think that it's long past time to consider the whole Catholic approach to sexuality. It's ALL abusive. Catholicism continues to preach that sexuality is 'impure,' 'sinful,' and basically only tolerable within the confines of a marriage and for the express purpose of procreation. Developing a healthy approach to sexuality is very difficult, if not impossible, within this framework. Catholics are forced to choose between defying their 'own' faith, or functioning within a twisted and mal-adaptive system.

Additionally, if ALL sexuality is impure, sinful, and suspect, then the Church hierarchy will inevitably minimize the actual sexual crimes of rape, pedophilia, and the like. What should be a shocking crime becomes folded into a continuum of impurity by these twisted priests and bishops.

I'm appal_jack and I was (unfortunately) raised Catholic. And I say that it's long past time to indict the whole Catholic philosophy of sexuality. Though no priests ever laid hands on me (that I can recall), I feel I still carry scars from the bullshit that nuns and priests sent my way during my 'education,' and those scars have reduced my ability to develop healthy adult relationships. Pedophilia by priests is by far the worst symptom of Catholic approaches to sexuality, but it is only one part of the disease.

-app