Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone blames homosexuality - not celibacy - for child abuse sex scandal

[Liberal_in_LA]

Celibacy is not the cause behind the child sex abuse scandal that has shattered the priesthood and imploded the Catholic Church.

Blame homosexuality, the Vatican's second in command claims.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a news conference in Chile on Monday that "many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia."

They do believe, however, "that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia," he said. "That is true. ... That is the problem."

His comments quickly were criticized by gay rights advocates in Chile.

"Neither Bertone nor the Vatican has the moral authority to give lessons on sexuality," said Rolando Jimenez, president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in Chile, according to The Associated Press.

"This is a perverse strategy by the Vatican to shirk its own ethical and legal responsibility by making a spurious and disgusting connection," he said.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/04/13/2010-0...

[redqueen]

1. I don't think it's celibacy either.

It's just that pedophiles recognize the opporunity that the Catholic Church provides, and take advantage of it. Just like they do with coaching jobs for youth teams, or any other job where they are given the opportunity to take advantage of their position.

[calico1]

4. Exactly.

The Church has had a shortage of priests for decades. Apparently the screening for pedophilia is not good since they all seem to get in.

Don't forget some Boy Scout leaders have also gotten caught. Any opportunity is taken advantage of by perverts.

It has nothing to do with celibacy and it drives me nuts when people say that if priests were allowed to get married that would fix all the sex abuse problems. It isn't celibacy that makes a sex abuser!

[Withywindle]

8. Exactly. It's POWER.

There are people who are celibate for non-religious reasons. There are religious celibates who actually keep their vows. There are religious celibates who, if they can't keep the vow, at least break it with consenting adult partners.

Sexual abuse of children is a crime of power and opportunity. All that much more likely to happen with pedophiles who think they are holy and know the church will protect them.

[applegrove]

12. Yup.

[icymist]

2. Last month the Catholic church was blaming Satan and the media....

Satan behind media attacks on the Pope, asserts Italian exorcist

Rome, Italy, Mar 31, 2010 / 11:47 am (CNA).- Noted Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, commented this week that the recent defamatory reporting on Pope Benedict XVI, especially by the New York Times, was “prompted by the devil.”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/satan_behind_med... /

So today it's homosexuals? Wonder who it'll be tomorrow?

[murielm99]

3. I read the first three words and thought this was going to be a

baseball thread. I wondered who the new guy on the Cardinals was. Yikes.

[walldude]

5. Keep digging asshole... keep digging..

Fucking Church is going to get buried under their own self righteousness...

[robdogbucky]

6. Just a couple weeks ago it was the NYT

and a Jewish conspiracy therein that was responsible.

That makes 3 attempts to deflect the blame.

What's next, the Clenis?




Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[malaise]

7. How do a bunch of assholes feigning celibacy

claim knowledge about anything related to human sexuality. Why don't they shut the fuck up!

[TwilightGardener]

9. Oh Lordy. Get yer stories straight, Rome. Last week it was the fault of

flirtatious pre-teen boys.

[JDPriestly]

10. Actually, a scientific study of the sex lives and fantasies of Catholic priests

might help doctors figure out what really causes pedophilia. I say that not because I think that such a high percentage of priests are pedophiles but because within the priesthood you have a large group of celibate individuals which does include, in spite of the Church's efforts, a range of homo- and heterosexuals who could provide a control group to compare to people picked randomly from all levels of society. Maybe we could determine whether there is any link or even statistical correlation between celibacy, homosexuality, heterosexuality, sexual obsession in general, monogamy and on the other hand pedophilia. I would hope that the Catholic Church would be willing to volunteer its priests for a study that could help us determine the factors that contribute to pedophilia.

[Q3JR4]

11. It's not really all that surprising.

When this issue exploded in America they tried to use the "homosexual" as a scapegoat there too.

That's why they were talking about "testing" people who decided to enter the priesthood for "homosexual tendencies". Last I could tell it worked to quell the debate here.

Nevermind that this has no bearing on the pope's refusal to defrock a pedophile priest when he ran the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and his protection of the pedophiles under his direct control when he was bishop.

I suppose they just want us to ignore all of the pertinent information until they find someone else they can blame (that the public will accept) for their own screw ups.

Q3JR4.