Peter K, it's not a "distraction." It's a crime. And I would not be so quick to maintain that it has nothing to do with the Church of Rome's teachings. Indeed, their teaching concerning "giving scandal" seems to be at the root of the bishops' and religious superiors' secretive and inadequate response and subsequent endangerment of more children. That, and the idea that a priest undergoes an "ontological change" that sets him apart from other men, making him, in the eyes of his fellows, somehow more valuable than mere laity.

Furthermore, the establishment of an all-male and celibate priesthood while it did not seem to directly lead to sexual acting-out created an attractive place for psycho-sexually troubled young men to attempt to "hide" from their issues.

And my one "pre-Cana" experience was different from your Joe's. Two progressive priests, both gay, one of them a prominent gay-rights activist, suddenly became very by-the-book and High Church.

One only has to read the National Catholic Reporter to understand the tremendous effort of "doublethink" that is necessary to stay in the Church of Rome. We have bishops talking about "religious freedom" in the context of their right to refuse those whose mores don't match their to freely practice their own beliefs. We have an absurd new English translation of the liturgy, one which has sucked much of the beauty out of the one thing that keeps Roman Catholics coming back, and is the most frequent touch-point.

Sadly, many of the folks left are the ortho-toxic "ban Vatican II and bring back the Latin Mass" types. They're the types who send notes of complaint to the Chancery should a priest or catechist step off the straight-and-narrow in the least.

The good news is that progressive Catholicism is gaining traction; some are even moving out of living rooms and rented spaces and purchasing parish properties of their own. They welcome most of the people that the Roman church has alienated.