Sex Abuse, Catholophobia, and Media Hypocrisy

"It's almost a curse to be a Priest -- so many people hate us now. Many Americans think us no better than a troop of pedophiles."

So a friend of mine, recently ordained, lamented about the public perception of his vocation. In America, Anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice, one seized upon by media outlets and various leftist organizations. The Priest sex-abuse scandal has provided these Catholophobe outlets with ample ammunition.

The numbers, however, tell a different story.

As a person who has long been involved in education, I must first say that ANY abuse directed towards a child is tragic and deserving of the highest punishment.

Anyone reading the newspapers would be under the impression that there is a virtual epidemic in the Church regarding pedophilia. For the purposes of Catholic congregations, even a single proven incident of Clerical sexual abuse is one-too-many. The image of the pedophile Priest and the uncaring Bishop is simply a false one, however, when compared with the available date.

An AP report released today chronicles the yearly number of sexual abuse cases in Protestant Churches, claiming an average of 260 complaints are filed every year. That is higher than the average of 228 a year from the Catholic Church. Remember the Frugal Gourmet? He was a Methodist Minister, and a convicted sex offender. Last week when a grown man complained against the Catholic Bishops in Chicago for their "lack of action" against pedophiles, he was front-page news in the Tribune. Today's AP report about Protestant sexual abuse is hidden on the corner of page 22.

Yet Protestant Ministers don't receive the stigma of being a pack of pedophiles. As to why this is, the complex of reasons lie beyond the scope of this article.

Keep in mind that of the nearly 500 claims filed a year against Clerics of all stripes, many are shown to be false claims. Not surprisingly, such vindications rarely make the news.

When compared to the numbers against public school teachers accused of the very same act, it's not even close:
"A national survey of 2,064 students in 2000 showed that 9.6 percent of public school students from kindergarten through 11th grade reported unwanted sexual harassment or abuse by public school employees, mostly educators, said Shakeshaft, professor of educational policies at Hofstra University in Huntington, N.Y." (Agostino Bono, "Picture of Child Sex Abuse..." CNS.)"

To be fair, if Catholic Priests are to be labeled a pack of pedophiles, then the slander must extend to Protestant Ministers and ESPECIALLY to Public School Teachers. The easily influenced might as well lock up their child until they turn 18.

Let me suggest, however, that the very same media who is so quick to slander based on claims of sexual abuse is itself guilty of the very same crime. In a culture where psychologists claim the average age of female sexualization as 8, something is clearly wrong. Whether watching television, driving down the street or checking out in the grocery store, our oversexed culture is impossible to escape.

Perhaps magazine editors and television executives should be slandered for sexual abuse towards children? Considering the magnitude of their influence, such a claim would be far more justified than the irrational and bigoted hate directed towards Catholic Clergymen. It is an honest question: When a "diva" grinds her crotch into the stage during a performance meant for all ages, is this really different then somebody doing it in the middle of the street in the sight of children?

As usual with the media, what "sells" is often overblown, whether we are speaking about sex abuse or spinach-salmonela scares. It is good habit to view all press with skepticism, and dig deeper on the issues before forming our prejudices.

In the case of the Church, it is both unfair and bigoted to paint the world's largest provider of charity as a den of child molesters. I can only call such claims what they are: Catholophobia.