Well, whatever, Ed. It's obvious you have not carefully read what I have to say.

My primary attitude toward the institutional structure of the Catholic Church, is disdain and mistrust - not only on the issue of child molestation. Nonetheless, they provide the structure within which I function, so I consider them to be a necessary evil. They gave me a very good education, and I was employed by Catholic entities off and on over the years. I have fought all my life to right the wrongs of my church - and I haven't given up the fight.

The structure of the Catholic Church is riddled with corruption - I have no doubt about that. Nonetheless, within that structure, many wonderful people continue to function and to do wonderful work. Corruption is part of the nature of organizational structures. We can allow that corruption to overcome and paralyze us, or we can do what's right despite the shortcomings of the structures in which we work. And I have to say that there was no such corruption in the Catholic institutions where I was educated and employed.

The reality of life is that wherever we are, we have to coexist with a lot of assholes - and believe it or not, the assholes also have a right to exist. We can keep running away from them or blaming them for our own failures, or we can plant our feet on the ground and do what we need to do. I choose the latter.

For me, the primary tenets of the Christian faith are love of God and love of neighbor (and that requires one to also love the assholes). I agree wholeheartedly that many Christians do not follow those tenets, but their failures do not mean that I am required to abandon my faith and go elsewhere. So, instead, I do the best I can to keep the assholes honest.

What in the world gave you the impression that I think of the victims of child abuse as "the enemy"? I think of molesting priests and coverup bishops as "the enemy" - and I think of the children who were molested as completely innocent victims. I have nothing but sympathy for them - how could you think otherwise? You need to get better reading glasses or something...

HOWEVER, I think that all Catholics were betrayed by the molesters and by the bishops who covered up the crimes, and it's those Catholics, not the molesters or the bishops, who are paying the million-dollar settlements.

But still, I think that million-dollar settlements are excessive, and that's the going price for Catholic Church child molestation settlements in the U.S. - not for other molestation victims, but only for those molested in Catholic institutions. It's absolutely true that no amount of money can compensate the victim of a serious crime like child molestation. No amount of money can heal the victim. If the bishops and molesters were paying the price, I'd say they should all pay until they're bankrupt. But it's not the bishops and molesters who are paying - it's the ordinary Catholics who make regular contributions on Sunday. In my diocese, I'd guess the bill comes to about $1,000 for each contributor to pay off our $100 million in settlements.

I certainly believe there should be just and generous compensation, but our contributions have made a hundred millionaires - and haven't healed them of the harm that was done. Still, the money has been paid. I'm not asking for it back - but I still contend it did not solve the problem, and it cost a lot of money that was paid by people who did not cause the problem. But that's done.

Now, let's take a look at your little list:

1) Recognize the wrong that was committed....
2) Do not dwell on the costs of repairing damages done by those in your organization.
3) Reach out to the victims and spare no expense to heal them and their families.
4) Recognize that sexual abuse at youth often has a deep impact on those abused....
5) Do not put those abused through the a legal system that puts them through the pain again.

Ed, everything that you suggest has already been done. I gave you a couple of (hostile) links above, and here (click) is the official study commissioned by the U.S. Bishops. Click here for the entire list of documents issued by the U.S. Catholic Bishops on the sexual abuse of children.

OK, let me repeat my family analogy, so you can read it carefully and tell us exactly where the fallacy is:

What happens in a family when Sweet Uncle Chester molests a child? At first, the child or children say nothing, because they're confused and maybe scared. Then, when they say something, adults don't understand. When the adults begin to understand, they can't believe that such a nice man would molest children, and they're sure the children must be confused somehow. And when they finally understand, Chester's wife puts up a fuss and stops the family from doing anything for a while, because she feels she and her husband have been betrayed by the family. Finally, somebody calls the police - but years may have passed since the first incident. Many molestation cases are hidden in families for generations.

Well, the same dynamic happens in a church - except that in a church or any institution, the institution gets blamed and the molester is largely forgotten; and the church ends up with a damaged reputation and a big bill to pay.

The big difference between molestation in a family and molestation in a church, is that the family is not financially liable for crimes that take place within the family. They may have to pay bills for treatment, but not million-dollar settlements.

That being said, yes it is an absolute shame and a scandal that such things happen in churches, and coverups and callousness are inexcusable. The Catholic Church should have had systems in place that made it easier to detect, report, respond to such crimes.

Ed, that's the way child molestation works. It's a crime that can stay hidden for years, even generations - and when it's finally discovered, the natural response of people is to deny it. And when they finally come to acknowledge the allegations, they have no idea how to respond - because there IS no good way to respond.
As a federal security clearance investigator over 25 years, I investigated fifteen or twenty child molesters who had applied for security clearances, and I reviewed dozens of police reports and interviewed molesters and police officers and child protective officers. I know what happens.

No, the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is not over. There is much that should be done that hasn't been done yet. If you want an honest and detailed assessment of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States, take a look at this article. It was written by Kathleen McChesney, a retired FBI executive who served as the first executive director of the U.S. bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection from 2002 to 2005. the article was published by the Franciscans in the St. Anthony Messenger. I think you will be surprised at its honesty.

-Joe Offer-