Does that answer your question?

Unless you’re getting your information from another source (or I’m completely overlooking something) you should probably correct that headline.

… The priest is charged with having attempted to kiss and touch an underage altar boy and of having exchanged cocaine for sexual intercourse with boys over 18.

(See inside Pope Benedict XVI’s daily life.)

Yup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/us-catholic-church-sexual-abuse-report

Or at least, so they say. *shakes head* Ridiculous.

Have you been following the media recently? If it were a major corporation and it’s executives doing this, Congress would be falling all over itself trying to push corporate tax cuts for pederasty related activities, legislation exempting the executives from prosecution, and the whole affair would be declared an issue of national security with a media blackout and anyone who investigates too deeply sent off to Guantanamo.

Why is the catholic church in charge of morality? What does morality have to do with them?

Catholics are trying to deny cause and effect. Celibacy is inhuman and leads inevitably to illicit sex for some number of priests. Illicit sex within the confines of Catholic theology leads inevitably to a culture of covering up “the sin”, in the name of Christian compassion and forgiveness. Covering up for consensual adult sex provides a framework for covering up less consensual, fundamentally exploitative sex – that is easier (and in some senses “safer”) for priests to obtain than consensual adult sex. Then once the culture of paedophilia is established, more paedophiles will move to the place where they can practice their vice without repercussions.

If Catholics enjoined their priesthood to accept the blessings of God and enter into mutually consensual sexual relationships as the Bible endorses for all men and women, the framework of cover-ups that allows this shit to go on would be significantly undercut, if not outright destroyed.

You cannot follow the teachings of Jesus and endorse a celibate priesthood. It’s completely incompatible.

It is.

The response amongst the American Catholic Laity to the ongoing sex scandals has been significant. The easiest place to see this response is the enormous drop in church collections. The most important place to see this is how the Vatican is getting hyper-controlling of US appointments and bank accounts. The Vatican is legitimately worried that the US Catholic church is simply going to leave — that is, schism.

Remember: Modern American Catholics are every bit as diverse as Modern Americans, so any question of the form “why do /don’t Catholics do X” is probably painting with too broad of a brush.

Blaming this on homosexuality instead of pedophilia is exactly what the church would like you to do.

That symbol in the background, is that an S&M thing?

Well, catholicism on the whole is kinda an S&M thing

These people aren’t interested in personal responsibility, they want a “personal relationship with cheezus” and personal absolution of their crimes. What they are interested in is using religion to justify and excuse unethical acts instead of admitting their crimes are a result of their own actions and desires.

.

institution gradually loses credibility and relevance (we can only hope!)

Fixed your sentence for you.

The priesthood is a convenient delivery system for people who would be looking for the same menu items regardless.

Whether that’s true or not, most organizations wouldn’t spend decades enabling and protecting any child molesters found within their ranks.

Scout troops, little league, party clowns, swim teams, ice cream trucks, priesthood,

The classic for me is an organisation called “Parents without partners” in Victoria, Australia. I lived over the road from their facility for many years. The idea is that they open an accommodation facility which accepts referrals from different welfare organisations including the police. The people they accept have to be single parents currently caring for their children. Typically a parent would be male, in their 20s or 30s and with a substance abuse problem. They would have one or more children of either gender. The facility has a manager with absolute authority over who stays and goes at all times. No records are kept of who lives there and when. There is no oversight over the standard of living and protection in place. I have no proof that children were abused in there, but I know for a fact that there were no mechanisms in place to detect such abuse, and this was by design.