The comments from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone this week linking homosexuality and pedophilia, and implicitly blaming gay priests for sexual abuse, came in the midst of the gravest crisis to face the church in the last 100 years: the rising tide of revelations of the crimes of sexual abuse of children, primarily boys and adolescent males. In a news conference in Chile, Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State, said, "[M]any psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and pedophilia." They do believe, however, "that there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia," he said. "That is true. ... That is the problem."
Cardinal Bertone's comments are, to put it charitably, surprising, for several reasons.
First of all, nearly every reputable psychologist and psychiatrist definitively rejects the conflation of homosexuality with pedophilia, as well as any cause-and-effect relationship. The studies are almost too numerous to mention. Pedophilia, say experts, is more a question of a stunted (or arrested) sexuality, more a question of power, and more a question of proximity (among many other complicated psychological factors). Simply put, being gay does not make one a pedophile. Read more - by Rev. James Martin, S.J. – The Huffington Post
In deep appreciation to Rev. James Martin, S.J. and The Huffington Post for being a voice of sanity and clarity – extremely beneficial to children, MSK
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything - by James Martin - read more
Victims slam 'blame-shifting' Vatican – AFP - The Sydney Morning Herald – smh.com.au – read more
Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation – read more
Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed,
well-considered, and yet fervent public conviction
that the most deadly of all possible sins
is the mutilation of a child's spirit.
Flagrant Disregard For All Of Humanity – Being Publicly Demonstrated by Benedict XVI and hierarchy - Failure to Accept Responsibility for Decades of Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups - read more
Important note:
No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy,
the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
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