Stll, Mike, you're putting some pretty heavy spin on things - or at least you're painting the Catholic Church as far more monolithic than it actually is. I heard talk a lot of talk about pedophilia in the 1970's, and Catholic bishops spent millions back then on treatment programs for pedophile and alcoholic priests - it's just that the programs didn't work. I've also heard Catholic scripture scholars discuss whether there is an anti-semitic tone to the Gospel of John. John Paul II gave more than one public apology fgor the participation of Catholics in the Holocaust.

And yes, you can make the "too little, too late" argument and you would be correct - but no apology and no reparation would ever be adequate for the evil done by the long history of anti-Semitism, or for the lives ruined by child molestation.

I'd like to think we've conquered anti-Semitism, but I think it has arisen again in recent years - partially (and wrongly) rationalized as a response to Israeli militarism. And the fact remains that nobody has come up with a way to end or even deal with pedophilia. It is a horrible problem, and we're just beginning to understand it.

-Joe-