Raggytash answers my question: Should bishops be expected to be all wise . . Frankly yes Joe they should. They are promoted to a position of being responsible for all that happens in their diocese.

In other words, they're Chief Executives (CEOs). They're administrative people who have limited insight into the human psyche. Rarely are they spiritual gurus. And on top of that, nobody really has a full understanding of child molestation. You expect celibate bishops to understand?


And answering the same question, Shakey says: The church generally doesn't hold back it's opinions on the big questions of how we should all live our lives.

You're right about that, Shakey, but I'm thinking that you're thinking that bishops spend all their time dictating sexual mores. If you study what Catholic bishops do, I think you'll find that most of them target their efforts against poverty and other economic issues, against racism, against mass incarceration, and especially against discrimination against immigrants. They really don't know much about sex, and they generally avoid talking about it because their lack of knowledge embarrasses them (despite stereotypes to the contrary).

That's what the Popes talk about too, for the most part. They botched the child molestation scandal horribly, but what they say about other issues is quite worthwhile. Lesson: don't go to bishops for sex advice - but please listen to what they say about immigration and refugees.

-Joe-