FACT #1
The Catholic Church has ALWAYS taught that sexual abuse of minors is a damnable sin, of the worst kind, in which Jesus Christ himself said it would be better for someone who does this to tie a millstone around his neck and be thrown into the deepest part of the sea.
FACT #2
The total number of all priests accused of sexual abuse of minors is less than 5% of all Catholic clergy. That means 95% of Catholic clergy have never been accused and are doing their jobs correctly.
FACT #3
In spite of what people say about clerical celibacy being a "cause" of these problems, actual statistics indicate that the majority of sex-abuse of minors is perpetrated by married men. Statistically speaking, being a celibate man actually REDUCES your odds of sexually abusing minors.
FACT #4
In the overwhelming vast majority of cases where sexual abuse was reported, the alleged victim was a male between the ages of 12 and 18. Victims younger than 12 were almost never reported, and sexual abuse of females was also rare. This is not the clinical definition of pedophilia. It is however a type of predatory homosexuality that seeks to take advantage of underage young men.
FACT #5
Homosexual men are not allowed to become priests in the Catholic Church. In order for a homosexual to become a priest he must lie about his homosexuality just to get into seminary and remain "in the closet" indefinitely. If he is ever discovered to be gay, he could be fired and laicized (defrocked).
FACT #6
Sexual abuse of minors is slightly higher in Protestant churches according to data released by insurance agencies that underwrite them.
FACT #7
Sexual abuse of minors is significantly higher in non-religious institutions that deal with children, particularly public schools, where according to a U.S. government report, a child is literally 100 times more likely to be molested in a public school than in a Catholic church.
FACT #8
The reforms implemented in the US Catholic Church after the sex-abuse scandal of 2003 have been hailed by child protective services as the most comprehensive ever seen in a public institution and have been cited as a model for other institutions to follow.
FACT #9
The mainstream media continues to report sexual-abuse cases in the Catholic Church disproportionally to sexual-abuse cases in Protestant churches and the public schools. In spite of actual sexual-abuse statistics being lower in the Catholic Church than in Protestant churches and the public schools, the media continues to focus on Catholicism like a laser beam, while higher numbers of sexual abuse cases in other churches and institutions are almost systematically ignored.
(Zenit.org).- First as the prefect for the Church's doctrinal congregation, and now as Pope, Benedict XVI has made a decisive contribution to the Church's battle against the sexual abuse of minors, according to an Italian bishop specialized in canon law.
Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi of Alessandria, Italy, defended the Holy Father's "rigor" in the effort to stop abuse in the Church. His reflection was published in Sunday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano.
The prelate noted that the Church -- "contrary to the deformed image that is presented -- is the institution that has engaged in the most decided battle against the sexual abuse of minors, beginning from within." In this effort, Bishop Versaldi said, Benedict XVI has made a "decisive impulse."
Recalling the future Pope's 20 years at the helm of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the prelate affirmed that "precisely from that observatory, Cardinal Ratzinger had the possibility to follow cases of abuse that were denounced and he fostered a more rigorous reform, including legislative, in this matter....
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