IvanK

Godless Dave

If heterosexuality is something we should all accept, and if priests should be allowed to have sex, and if the Boy Scouts should have straight scoutmasters, then why is everybody upset that heterosexual priests have gotten sexually involved with girls under 18? -- Sarcastic Dave

What an idiot. They are more out of touch with reality than I thought.

IvanK

So you're saying it's wrong for an adult homosexual male to be sexually involved with a minor under any and all circumstances? Or only if the adult is also a Catholic priest?

Godless Dave

Yes.

OK, maybe an 18-year-old involved with a 17-year-old isn't wrong. But teacher, priest, scoutmaster, boss, parent, uncle - those are all wrong.

IvanK

Then shouldn't there be an equal uproar if (I don't say when but I think I could) a school district recommends a teacher accused of pederasty with a student for a job in another school rather than referring the matter to the police?

Bree

Yes, there should be. I entered into a really bad relationship with my music teacher (starting when I was 14 and he was 25). The guy had been in trouble in a different district for having a relationship with another young woman - eventually she got pregnant and committed suicide. Her parents didn't press charges so he got off scot-free, and continues to work in the field.

Scotty

Well (Washington State, not really that far from me), we did have a school teacher who screwed around with a student and got pregant, then went to jail had the baby and got pregnant again via same student when she was in jail.

I feel you are tryinig to make a point that I am missing IvanK...or did it just blow right by me?

-Scott

bonduca

Bree, there's still hope someone will run him down with their car.

Godless Dave

Yes, absolutely. It doesn't happen as much (anymore) because enough school districts have been sued in the past that most call the police right away now. At least here in Minnesota they are very careful with background checks. A previous conviction for any crime involving sex with a minor, whether a felony or not, automatically disqualifies someone from employment.

IvanK

The point the article raises, which I think is a valid one, is that condemning the priesthood and/or the Catholic Church for the actions of some preists would be like condemning the teaching profession and/or the public education system for the actions of some teachers. There are other points raised that aren't to my mind as compelling, for example about the alleged pervasiveness of sexual ideas and images in present-day U.S. society. I think it would be a mistake to see the current crisis as one that is or can be confined to the U.S., as the Church seems to be doing.

What I think the good father might ultimately be getting at is that some things ought propperly to be considered sinful; that all humans are sinners; and that they all want and need forgiveness. I'd be interested in seeing if we could come up with either a refutation of or a secular equivalent for these ideas.