I think that most people don't commit crime, because crime doesn't make sense to them - it does not fit into their philosophy of life, if you will. The fear of punishment has something to do with it, but I think that most people don't commit crime because crime is senseless and absurd to them.

So, the people who DO commit crime, very often have something wrong with them. I think an awful lot of them, are able to make themselves believe they are doing the right thing. Authority telling them otherwise, will have very little effect on them.

As for the coverups, I think it's a number of things. One is the liability, which has reached an outrageous extreme. If a middle manager (bishop) has to pay millions of dollars in reparation for an action he had no knowledge of, that burden may be just too much to take and may drive a weak person to coverup - and most middle managers are weak persons. Another reason is mistaken loyalty to a priest who "couldn't possibly do anything so horrible." Or some sort of insensitive that elitist bishops have to the lower classes. Or any number of other reasons that need to be explored.

I don't usually like people who are in management, and I've rarely met a Catholic bishop I've admired - but I have to admit that some priests and bishops that I HAVE admired, have committed these horrible crimes nonetheless.

-Joe-