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The Evening Post
April 9, 2002
Clerical predators
Letter to the Editor
by Brian Quin, Thorndon
You are rightly angry at the sexual abuse of
children by some Catholic priests (Editorial, March 27), and I share your
anger. Nevertheless, I think some of your comments are not fair.
"Never mind the kids, what about the Church?" The Pope, in his annual
message to priests, certainly emphasised the scandal that the actions of a few
had caused, but did go on and describe the Church's concern for the victims.
Moreover, the Pope has expressed his concern for child victims on other
occasions, for example in December 2001 at the installation of the new
Archbishop of Cardiff,
"Why do Churches harbour so many sexual predators," you ask. The
justified publicity that surrounds clerics convicted of child abuse can, in
time, give the impression that clerics are more likely to offend in this area
than others. I would like to see solid evidence that this is true.
"For Catholics, celibacy surely plays a part," you say. Surely? You don't say why. Surely the unfortunate fact that
married Protestant clergy have committed child abuse raises a doubt. The
Catholic Church may not have always been careful enough to properly discern
which men were called to the celibate state, but that is another matter.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in