Tony G, Tulsa (11/4/2009 5:55:09 AM)

This is sad, where can your child be safe?

turley, turley (11/4/2009 5:59:05 AM)

I know one place they are not safe....that's around Ken Lewis.....

fisherwoman, (11/4/2009 7:31:29 AM)

As a Catholic mother, I am especially hurting for the families of the victims...and of course, for those young men harmed by this pediphelic behavior. No excuses. None. Let full justice be served...and quickly!!!

It Matters!, (11/4/2009 8:14:09 AM)

Religion and it's 'so called' leaders of the flock should be regulated. Almost all Catholic priests are gay and thrive on the alter boys.
Religion is very scary. It is driven off fear and the weak. Believe in reality! It is much safer and real!

Few Clothes, America (11/4/2009 8:36:05 AM)

Yet another black eye for the Catholic community.

forkandknife, Tulsa (11/4/2009 9:11:13 AM)

Are our children ever safe anymore?

lucky girl, mine (11/4/2009 9:24:52 AM)

They are safe at home, that's about it anymore. To sad.

scooter2, (11/4/2009 9:33:14 AM)

There has been so much of this in the Catholic Church. They definately need some decernment of spirits in their midst. Disgusting.

hardball, (11/4/2009 11:04:52 AM)

It Matters!, Religion and it's 'so called' leaders of the flock should be regulated. Almost all Catholic priests are gay and thrive on the alter boys.

Where do you get your info "matters"???

It seems that almost all faiths appear lately have perverts in their churches, and everybody screams, moans, and condems them (which I agree with).

But then the same folks want "gay" marriages and "gay" parenting legalized and promoted. Seems to me they are just getting the same conduct that they approved.

laughoutloud, (11/4/2009 11:11:15 AM)

It is crooked from the top down so of course they have no "discernment of spirits".
There are millions of nice Caltholic people, but the leadership is all about syphoning that cash from others (espeicially poor vulnerable people) to themselves.

They have a headquarter worth billions which was built on greed and is sustained on greed.

I've been to the Vatican and it is not a church nor is it a place of God-worship. Its an art gallery, a historical site, a tourist spot and a multi-billion-dollar headquarters for a corporation which sells an imaginary product it doesn't even believe in. The top two things worshiped in the Vatican are money and a man.

laughoutloud, (11/4/2009 11:16:56 AM)

hardball: agreed. Why can't people realize the same sort of thing that turns people into pedophiles turns people gay? its called sexual perversion. Who is to say one kind of perversion is better/worse than another? At this rate, they'll legalize beast-human marriage by 2050!!

SNAPnetwork, (11/4/2009 12:18:17 PM)

Every single person who knows anything about Lewis' crimes and misdeeds has a moral and civic obligation. The civic duty - tell police what you know, because Lewis still walks free and belongs behind bars. The moral duty - ask everyone you know who spent time with him "Did Lewis hurt you too?"

This is what Jesus would do.

David Clohessy, national director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790), SNAPnetwork dot org, snapclohessy at aol dot com

hardball, (11/4/2009 1:01:10 PM)

laughoutloud: 2050? Pelosi appears to be the results or spawn of a beast-human,,, with a lot of plastic surgery.

anarchynation, (11/4/2009 1:48:24 PM)

we should exterminate all priest!! they are nothing but legalized child molesters!! sick bxstard! i guess they dont have to fight michael jackson anymore over a small boy though!!

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 1:58:46 PM)

Not all homes are safe, either, luckygirl. Plenty of kids are molested by family members and family friends.

Kids have to be taught that and given permission to say "No" to adults they know and maybe even love and to say "No" to people in authority positions, if what they ask makes them feel uncomfortable or "wrong." They need to be prepared for this possibility, because there are many, many sick people out there, and they often look just like anyone else and they know how to manipulate both parents and children to gain access to what they want. Teach your children at a young age, before it's too late.

Homosexuality is NOT the same as being a child molester. There is a biological basis for homosexuality. Do some reading on the subject, hardball and laughoutloud. Most homosexuals are not sexually interested in children, from what I've read. Many child molesters are heterosexual, though.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 2:25:29 PM)

Roman Catholic priests are required to promise to live an unnatural, celibate life and deny their own sexuality in order to be ordained. The Church should allow its priests to marry, thereby helping to solve two of its problems, a shortage of priests and an overabundance of perverts (child molesters) within its ranks.

Unfortunately, pedophilia in the priesthood has been going on so long, passed from one generation to the next. Many pedophiles are likely to still be in the upper tiers of the hierarchy of the Church, explaining why the molesting priests were so long protected and shifted from one church to another, rather than turned in to the authorities when discovered. It is also likely why the Vatican had a formal policy restricting victims from discussing these matters outside of the church, allowing the Church to handle it.

laughoutloud, (11/4/2009 4:34:51 PM)

Jolie, I said it is the same SORT of thing that turns people into pedophiles turns people gay: sexual perversion

Its been around for a long time, but it now being openly celebrated and people are "proud" of one type while another type is prosecute (as it should be).

Look up the studies: a disproportionate amount of homosexuals were sexually abused as children and/or sexually active at younger ages.
Perversion creates more perversion.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 4:57:37 PM)

Sorry, laughoutloud, but I think some people are just born 'gay' whether you want to believe it or not. They show tendencies of being different very early on, and I believe there is scientific studies that show differences in biology, as well. My memory is not very good, so I'll try to find the article on the subject that was enlightening to me a several years ago and come back here with the source, title, and date.

Also, it is estimated that 1 out 6 (I've also seen 1 of 4 reported) girls are sexually molested. Are there that many lesbians? I'm sure there are plenty of adult heterosexual males that were sexually abused as children, too.

I don't dispute the strong possibility that some children's sexual identity was determined by the experience of being molested by a same sex partner. I just don't think that's the whole answer to it.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 5:12:54 PM)

to laughoutloud

I sure wish they had an edit or delete button for people to remove their own posts.

Please ignore my statement about girls being molested and not becoming lesbians in the same proportion. That did not make sense in context, since the majority of molesters of girls are males, not a same-sex predator.

I did find the article I mentioned, though, and will post the information about it next.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 5:16:51 PM)

The article I mentioned is called "What Makes People Gay?" by Neil Swidey and was published in The Boston Globe on 08/14/2005.

You can easily find it by typing the title in quotes into your search engine. It will be one of the top results.

No matter what a person's opinion on the subject of homosexuality is, I think everyone should read it with an open mind.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 5:22:16 PM)

This report makes useful reading, as well.

It's titled "Sexual Abuse of Males: Prevalence, Possible Lasting Effects, and Resources" last updated today, 11/04/09

You will find it here:

jimhopper dot com / male-ab /

The author, Jim Hopper, is a psychologist and for over 15 years has been a researcher and a therapist for men and women subjected to unwanted sexual experiences and other forms of abuse in childhood.

It estimates that 1 out of 6 males in the US and Canada are physically molested before the age of 16. Folks need to be talking about this with their kids at an early age to protect them by giving them the tools to prevent this from occurring, whenever possible.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 5:28:55 PM)

Another interesting article related to this subject is:

"Facts about Homosexuality and Child Molestation"

psychology dot ucdavis dot edu / rainbow / html / facts_molestation dot html

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 5:31:34 PM)

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (at missingkids dot com) has a lot of information about sexual abuse and exploitation of children and how to be on the lookout for signs of predator behavior and how to help your kids protect themselves. I recommend parents read the extensive information available to them there to help them.

fisherwoman, (11/4/2009 7:26:19 PM)

It makes me very sad to the bottom of my heart reading the postings about the Catholic faith, MY faith and MY church....and in all the postings, I am missing any idea that ANY religious person, of ANY faith, SHOULD go into being a dedicated religious person, male or female, because of a sincere belief that being one is God's wish for him/her. I am willing to bet that many of the strongly-opinionated who write here know of someone of some faith who personifies this description. I know more than I can count. I feel sad for those of you posting here who are so without such influences in your lives that you don't see the beacon of light. The misguided ones, either by sexual deviance or financial deviance (FEED THE CHILDREN COME TO MIND???), seem to be more quickly recognized than the legions of simple, good, holy, realistic persons or, anyway, pointed to in times of trial. I choose to be angry at one and thankful for the many, of many religious beliefs, who have enriched my own life.

Jolie2, (11/4/2009 8:49:20 PM)

to fisherwoman

I believe what you are reading here is the result of the terrible anger that many of us feel at the systemic protection the large number of pedophile priests received from the bishops and other higher authorities within the Church. Is there anything worse than someone entrusted with the spiritual guidance of children and their parents to betray them in this most heinous manner? Yet this happened again and again. The Church leaders chose to protect the priests, at the expense of the children and their families. When this scandal become known to the general public, that was when I lost all respect for the Church itself and was angry and depressed for quite a while at the condition of the human race (my estimation of it was already low and it dropped considerably from there).

Sure, I believe there are many decent, caring folks serving through faith. They have been damaged by the wrongdoings of their peers and their leaders. Once trust is lost is lost in something or someone, it is very difficult to regain it.