Vatican: Ephebophilia, Not Pedophilia

[ulmont]

As of May 2007, the Vatican website stated that there were some 406,411 priests serving the Church worldwide.

I'm relieved to learn that there are only approximately 20,320 pedophiles/ephebophiles serving as Catholic priests.

Wait there  are 1 billion Catholics right?  So there are 2500 worshipers for every priest?  Damn those churches must get crowded.

I suspect no more than 1 in 10 of them go to Mass regularly.

[Malthus]

Seriously though, I wonder what the statistics are like for other religious figures. All of 'em have the opportunity to be abusers - high social status, parental trust, lots of access to children in day classes and the like, etc.

My guess is that the requirement for celebacy and the heirarchical organization of the Catholic church makes abuse in that setting much, much more likely.

[Duque de Bragança]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Better laugh than cry I guess.

[KRonn]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Scary, that educators took issue with it. Hopefully someone cleared things up...   

[Lucidor]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Damn fancy big-city words!

[alfred russel]

Expect to see postings for openings in the Vatican PR department.

This is a church that reintroduces a prayer to convert the jews after electing a pope that had nazi ties, and goes to africa to teach about not using condoms in an aids epidemic. This is just PR in a strong catholic tradition.

[Neil]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Did you read about that in the Daily Mail?

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Oh well then, carry on.

And yet people still let these ridiculous self absorbed busybodies run their lives.

[The Brain]

Vatican: Ephebophilia, Not Pedophilia
Catholic priests who sexually abuse young people should not be called "pedophiles," said a Vatican official.
By Julie Bolcer

The Vatican has suggested that instances of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests would be more accurately described as ephebophilia -- attraction to mid to late adolescents -- rather than pedophilia.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations, argued for the change in terminology in a statement following a meeting of the U.N. human rights council in Geneva.

"Of all priests involved in the abuses, 80 to 90 percent belong to this sexual orientation minority which is sexually engaged with adolescent boys between the ages of 11 and 17," said Tomasi, according to London's The Guardian newspaper.

In the statement, Tomasi also attempted to deflect criticism of the Vatican's handling of sexual abuse scandals by pointing a finger at other church bodies, reported The Guardian.

Tomasi cited statistics to argue that no more than 5% of Catholic clergy were involved in sexual abuse, claiming that the majority of American churches struggling with abuse allegations were Protestant.

This is soooooo bloody funny.

Link?

[ulmont]

Link?

The Advocate, unsurprisingly: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/09/30/Vatican__Ephebophilia,_Not_Pedophilia/

The Guardian also has a story:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/28/sex-abuse-religion-vatican

[jimmy olsen]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Seriously? That wasn't overturned on review or he didn't sue?

[jimmy olsen]

This reminds me of the teacher who got sacked for referring to his colleagues as pedagogues in a memo.

Scary, that educators took issue with it. Hopefully someone cleared things up...   

They certainly use the word pedagogy a lot at the URI Ed program, maybe it's fallen out of use in Britain.

[The Brain]

I have called for the atomic purging of Rome and an end to idolatry for ages. I am blameless.

[Malthus]

This sort of thing doesn't help.

Bishop negotiates sex crime settlement on behalf of Church:

"Ron Martin and Bishop [Raymond] Lahey had the courage ... to try to find a better way to do these types of claims. So I'm very proud to be a part of this process," said Bruce MacIntosh, lawyer for the diocese.
. . .
Last month, Lahey announced the multimillion-dollar settlement and formally apologized to the victims and their families.

"I want them to know how terribly sorry we are, how wrong this abuse was, and how we are now trying to right these past wrongs."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/09/10/ns-court-sex-abuse-church.html

Fifteen days later, same bishop is charged with possession of child porn, disappears:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/09/30/ns-bishop-charged.html

Ottawa police have issued an arrest warrant for a Roman Catholic bishop from Nova Scotia facing child pornography charges.

Raymond Lahey, a native of Newfoundland who was with the Antigonish diocese until his sudden resignation on Saturday, currently can't be found, Ottawa police Const. Jean-Paul Vincelette said Wednesday.

...

Lahey was re-entering Canada at the Ottawa International Airport on Sept. 15 when members of the Canada Border Services Agency pulled him aside for a secondary examination, according to a release from Ottawa police. Officers found images on Lahey's laptop computer "that were of concern."

He was released at the time. The computer was seized and police said a subsequent forensic examination of the computer revealed child pornography.

Lahey was charged on Sept. 25. No court date has been set.

The former leader of the diocese of Antigonish is perhaps best known as the man who helped broker a $15-million settlement with people who said they had been sexually abused by priests in the diocese, in some cases dating back to 1950. That settlement was approved by a Nova Scotia court on Sept. 10.

[Martinus]