Skip to main content
SHARPER IRON
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
  • About
    • About Sharper Iron
    • Doctrinal Statement
    • Contact
    • Search
  • Forum
    • Forum Home
    • Comment Guidelines
    • Search
  • Account
    • Log in
    • Register

Catholic Cardinal: Homosexuality is Cause of Sexual Abuse Crisis, It's 'Statistically Proven'

By Jim on Tue, 01/08/19
Society & Culture
Homosexuality
Clergy Sexual Abuse
Roman Catholicism

Contrary to the claim by some clergy that the sexual abuse problems in the Catholic Church stem from “clericalism” — excessive deference to priests and bishops — German Cardinal Walter Brandmuller said the fundamental problem is homosexuality in the priesthood. He stressed that 80% of the abuse cases over the decades involved gay priests abusing post-pubescent boys, i.e., young teen boys, ages 11 to 17. This is a “statistically proven” fact, he added.

Discussion

Profile picture for user Bert Perry
Bert Perry

NewHe appears to be wrong

Tue, 01/08/19

If the Jay study is indicative, only 81% of victims are male, and only 78% of those (61% overall) are 11 or over. Moreover, the onset of puberty varies for males from ages 12 to 16, so it’s incorrect to say that anyone age 11 or over is “sexually mature”. Full maturity is moreover generally achieved at around 15 years of age.

My best guess is that about half the victims were sexually mature, and half were not—about a quarter were over age 17 and thus almost automatically sexually mature, 22% were ten or under and were almost automatically sexually immature, and of the remaining 50%, I’d guess about 2/3 were not sexually mature. So overall, of the males molested, I’d guess 50-60% were either prepubescent or in early puberty, and probably similar for the females molested.

The question, then, is whether the molestation was due to homosexual leanings among priests, or whether it was some other perversion, or simply “opportunistic”. I am leaning towards “some other perversion” like pedophilia combined with an “opportunistic” sexuality for the abuse of those under 15, and for those over 15, a mix of all three factors. I don’t see clear data proving that molestation of males is primarily, or perhaps even significantly, done by men with a primary attraction to other adult men.

And quite frankly, in this day and age, anyone who would dare attempt that might as well tattoo a target in his forehead and chest. You’d have to spend a lot of time investigating these cases, and the evidence is notoriously messy with somewhere between 2/3 and 4/5 of victims never telling anyone.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Profile picture for user Bert Perry
Bert Perry

NewAn addendum

Wed, 01/09/19

About midway through this article, Andrew Sullivan, a homosexual journalist and person claiming Catholic faith, argues that compelling homosexual men to celibacy (e.g. Catholic priests) leads to things like this. He may be right, he may be wrong, but it strikes me that his is an interesting response to contentions like the ones I make above. I don’t know whether to put it in the bin of “one perversion leads to another” or “this is what happens when lonely men get an opportunity”, though my hunch is Sullivan would lean towards the latter.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Related . . .

Topics: Homosexuality, Wesley Hill
  • Book Review: “Spiritual Friendship” by Wesley Hill
  • "When an Orthodox Jewish university is compelled by the state to allow same-sex couples access to married student housing, that's a very big deal."
  • Pentagon: no "changes to policies concerning the chaplain corps of the military departments and their duties"
  • SBC Pres. "Bryant Wright met with a coalition of leaders from LGBT groups who wanted the Convention to apologize for what they described as the harm the SBC has caused by their teaching on homosexuality."
  • Randy Roberts Potts: "I found enough hope to move on after my family and church told me I was going to hell"

Pagination

  • Page 1
  • Next page

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

(ESV, James 5:9)

Footer

  • About
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Forum

Since 2005

Image
2005 SI Logo Image