There is also something to be said about the psychology of 30+ years ago when this was happening which understood pedophilia (and homosexuality) as an illness to be cured or healed.
We've become such goldfish that we assume the social, medical and cultural reality of today is the same as during the 50-70's (for the Irish and Milwaukee issues in particular) and criticize accordingly. The Church is a target because it's apparently more socially acceptable to attack Catholics than Boy Scouts or Protestant churches.
What gets completely ignored in the discussion is today's reality. The Catholic church will not (and can not) ignore allegations of abuse, will actively investigate and take appropriate action. As a youth leader, I'm not even allowed to take one of my teens out for coffee by myself. It's policies like this and the current culture amongst the priesthood and religious which is the reality, not the actions of 40 years ago.
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Date: 2010-04-10 05:00 pm (UTC)We've become such goldfish that we assume the social, medical and cultural reality of today is the same as during the 50-70's (for the Irish and Milwaukee issues in particular) and criticize accordingly. The Church is a target because it's apparently more socially acceptable to attack Catholics than Boy Scouts or Protestant churches.
What gets completely ignored in the discussion is today's reality. The Catholic church will not (and can not) ignore allegations of abuse, will actively investigate and take appropriate action. As a youth leader, I'm not even allowed to take one of my teens out for coffee by myself. It's policies like this and the current culture amongst the priesthood and religious which is the reality, not the actions of 40 years ago.