I suppose we can identify four major types of male molesters - there must be differences, because the acts are so different:

those who molest pre-pubescent boys

those who molest pre-pubescent girls

those who molest pubescent boys

those who molest pubescent girls

All of these share one characteristic - an adult molesting a child. There are other factors, such as the type of sexual contact and whether the victim is willing or unwilling, so I guess our distinctions could be endless. But no matter how many distinctions you make, one thing is clear - all of them are adults who have sex with children - and that's clearly a huge difference from two consenting adults having homosexual or heterosexual sex. The deviance comes in with the age of the victim, and the victim's inability to give full, informed consent.

Rome's first response to the current sex abuse crisis, was to target homosexuals; and Rome instituted restrictions on homosexuals entering and attending seminaries. Right-wing Catholics were triumphant, because they have long blamed the troubles of the Catholic Church on the "homosexual agenda" of liberals. "Homosexual agenda" has become a buzzword for anything conservative Catholics don't like.

But Rome got shot down early on that one, because it's clear to most of us that homosexuality is not the reason for child molestation. There are still a few conservative idiots trying to blow that horn, but Rome has largely backed off its attempt to blame child molestation on homosexuals. It's very obvious that the vast majority of homosexuals wouldn't dream of having sex with a child.

There are still forces in Rome that try to blame child molestation on liberalism, and the relaxation of sexual attitudes and taboos. The conservatives like that argument, too - but it's dropping into the background. It's very obvious that the vast majority of liberals wouldn't dream of having sex with a child.

The loudest voices now are shouting that the blame for molestation lies in the fact that the molesters are Catholic, and that the Catholic Church is nothing but an international child molestation conspiracy. It's very obvious to me that the vast majority of Catholics wouldn't dream of having sex with a child.

And some blame priesthood, as if ordination had some power that induced the tendency to molest children into a man. And others blame celibacy, as if not having sex with a mature, adult partner would cause a person to want to have sex with children (celibacy may create a haven for those drawn to molesting children, but it seems clear to me that celibacy and child molestation are separate matters. Indeed, true celibacy makes child molestation impossible).

So, it seems that in all this, people have been barking up the wrong tree, wasting all their energy pointing the finger of blame at false targets and proposing solutions that destroy their favorite targets without actually solving the problem of child molestation.

Maybe it's time to stop all the finger-pointing at false targets, and to ask the difficult questions required to find a solution to this terrible web of crime.

-Joe-