Mass rape by paedophile Catholic priests is a myth, says secular humanist magazine. How The Independent reported the rape claims A fascinating article today by the atheist Left-wing columnist Brendan O'Neill, editor of spiked, rubbishing claims that thousands of children were "raped by the Catholic Church's army of paedophile priests". Here's an extract: Were 10,000 children in America and thousands more in Ireland really raped by Catholic priests? In a word, no. You'll need to read O'Neill's piece to grasp the full details, but in essence he makes two points: 1. How did a complex US report about all manner of allegations against priests come to be translated in the words of the Independent into the idea that ‘over 10,000 people have come forward to say they were raped [by priests]’? In other words, the Catholic-baiting Independent seriously misled its readers. 2. Once again, not all of the allegations resulted in convictions.
O'Neill has done us a service by writing this article on the eve of the Pope's visit. Sexual abuse by Catholic priests -- Next steps. There was a lot to learn from the release last Friday of reports on clergy sexual abuse in the American Catholic Church. The much anticipated document from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York stated that 4,392 priests (4 percent of the U.S. total) sexually victimized 10,667 children during the past 52 years. The report noted that 81 percent of the victims were boys, with two-thirds being teenagers. Most of the abuse occurred in the 1970s (70 percent of the offending priests were ordained on or before 1970), with significant declines by the 1980s and 1990s. In a separate report also commissioned by American Catholic bishops, the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, composed of lay persons, chastised the bishops for how they dealt with child-abuse allegations over the years.
How do we put these numbers in perspective? We naturally expect better behavior from religious leaders such as priests than from other men, however. We do have a part to play in the Pope’s protection Priests Commit No More Abuse Than Other Males. A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse, by Dr. Thomas Plante (Updated 2010) Recent events regarding child sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in Europe and Brazil have yet again resulted in a tremendous amount of media attention and frenzy regarding this topic. There has been a frantic and almost hysterical reaction to the allegations, convictions, and resignations of priest sex offenders. Yet, important available information about this problem is frequently just not addressed and many myths about priest sex offenders and their victims abound.
First, the available research (which is quite good now) suggests that approximately 4% of priests during the past half century (and mostly in the 1960s and 1970s) have had a sexual experience with a minor (i.e., anyone under the age of 18). There are approximately 60,000 active and inactive priests and brothers in the United States and thus we estimate that between 1,000 and 3,000 priests have sexually engaged with minors. That's a lot. Fourth, allowing priests to marry will not eliminate this problem. Now we have real evidence – sexual abuse is not a ‘Catholic problem’ About New York - Paying for Sins of the Fathers, and of Others, Too.