Clerical abuse was first documented by a clerical scribe writing The Annals around the time The Book of Kells was being put together - there is little doubt that is has been a part of enclosed religious life since time immemorial
What we are seeing is a gradually more enlightened time coming to terms with sexuality and wronging old bad habits - certain sections of the religious population seem to be having trouble with that
As Iains rightly points out, this type of abuse is not confined to the Church - it happens wherever unrestricted power is wielded over the weak and vulnerable - nor is the abuse confined to sexual behaviour
It most certainly is not confined to the Catholic Church the **** has yet to hit the fan over similar abuses in other religions.
Those Christians who have targeted Muslims over their attitudes to sex need to set about building themselves a fall-out shelter
It has nothing whatever to do with homosexuality - homosexuals are no more prone to rape and paedophilia than are hetros
In my opinion homophobia is a sickness - not homosexuality
Clerical - or any serial abuse within institutions is about power and distorted sexuality due to enforced celibacy - it is also down to availability of victims
I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Ake goes into Wandsworth Nick or The Scrubs and calls the inmates a bunch of 'disease ridden poofdahs' - you could sell tickets for those particular cage fights
The main criminals in the case of Catholic clerical abuse are those who covered up and facilitated the rapes of children - the church leaders from the bishops to the Vatican
The latter still refuses access to documented evidence that would give closer to the victims and the surviving families of those whose lives were scarred and ruined even to the point of suicide
In Ireland, details are now emerging of the possibility of manslaughter by clerical institutions - secret mass graves and covered up deaths of maltreated children under institutional care
The most positive   
The past and current revelations are a speck compared to the diarrhea storm that is quite likely to hit the fan
Probaly the most positive thing to come out of all this is that, at long last, the grip of the church on the minds of the people appears to be weakening - some way to go but early days yet
Jim Carroll