# Has "Nice" New Pope Made Media Stop Caring About Pedophile Priests? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 27, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837 "2014-01-27T12:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/41 "2014-08-25T21:10:37Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > (my bolding) > Do you believe that the Catholic Church has “protected their own instead of the kids” more tan public schools, gyms, protestant churches, etc.? > > The RCC is an easy target. Small individual churches, a no-name school district, Joe’s Gym simply don’t get headlines nor do they sell as much. The unified nature of the RCC makes it easy to lump numbers. Already covered in post #33. If you’ve got alternate breaking news, open a thread and inform the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/42 "2014-08-25T21:16:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Already covered in post #33. If you’ve got alternate breaking news, open a thread and inform the world. Or teachers with diplomatic immunity. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/43 "2014-08-25T21:21:21Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Or teachers with diplomatic immunity. Exactly. “You’re only picking on the Catholic Church because they’ve been doing it longer and on a much larger scale!” Well…_DUH!!_ ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/44 "2014-08-25T22:15:47Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > (my bolding) > Do you believe that the Catholic Church has “protected their own instead of the kids” more tan public schools, gyms, protestant churches, etc.? Probably, but even so, “Other people do it too!” is hardly a defense - especially from an organization that professes to have a direct link to God and actually preaches to others about morality. Do you have any information that says they’re even \*as \*moral and responsible as those other institutions you mention, since you mention them? > [@](#): > > The unified nature of the RCC makes it easy to lump numbers. It also makes it easier to move their own people around and away from legal trouble, including between countries. Isn’t that part of the \*attraction \*of the priesthood as a profession to child molesters? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/45 "2014-08-25T22:32:04Z")
Depends on the country. We currently have a [Royal Commission](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_commission) looking into [Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-25/church-took-20-years-to-defrock-paedophile-priest-inquiry-hears/5695346) The Catholic church is getting a pretty solid hammering (despite the best efforts of the largely catholic government trying to starve the Commission of funding). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/46 "2014-08-26T00:30:52Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The RCC is an easy target. Gosh, I can’t possibly fathom why. Oh, it’s because they covered up a bunch of kiddie-raping. I musta forgot. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/47 "2014-08-26T02:34:30Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s an organization that thought protecting the organization from embarrassment was more important than protecting the people being hurt by the organization. There’s nothing unique in this, but so what? No, actually, the Catholic Church was UNIQUE among religious groups in taking extensive steps to protect child molesters in its ranks from prosecution by civil authorities. THAT’S why they seemed to have so many cases, THAT’S why they caught so much hell. Other churches … protestants, etc. … handed their pedophile preists or preist-equivalents over to civil authorities for prosecution. They had pedophiles too, but took care of it in a more responsible and caring manner than the Catholic Church, whose leadership clearly cared nothing at all about the children who were victimized and in fact acted as enablers for its pedophiles. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/48 "2014-08-26T02:45:02Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > No, actually, the Catholic Church was UNIQUE among religious groups in taking extensive steps to protect child molesters in its ranks from prosecution by civil authorities. THAT’S why they seemed to have so many cases, THAT’S why they caught so much hell. Other churches … protestants, etc. … handed their pedophile preists or preist-equivalents over to civil authorities for prosecution. They had pedophiles too, but took care of it in a more responsible and caring manner than the Catholic Church, whose leadership clearly cared nothing at all about the children who were victimized and in fact acted as enablers for its pedophiles. Any cites on this? Showing that non-Catholic churches were more likely to report offending clergy to the civil authorities than the Catholic church was? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/49 "2014-08-26T02:45:15Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > No, actually, the Catholic Church was UNIQUE among religious groups in taking extensive steps to protect child molesters in its ranks from prosecution by civil authorities. THAT’S why they seemed to have so many cases, THAT’S why they caught so much hell. Other churches … protestants, etc. … handed their pedophile preists or preist-equivalents over to civil authorities for prosecution. They had pedophiles too, but took care of it in a more responsible and caring manner than the Catholic Church, whose leadership clearly cared nothing at all about the children who were victimized and in fact acted as enablers for its pedophiles. Interesting claim. I doubt that it is accurate. In fact, it seems that the RCC makes a better target simply because it keeps records. Non-Catholic clergymen (and athletic coaches in schools, scoutmasters, and others in positions of authority over children), were often simply dismissed and permitted to wander over to a new congregation (or school or troop) with no record of his previous actions. Such “private” dismissals avoided the embarrassment of their employers having to admit they had hired such a person while also avoiding lawsuits from the accused if they could not provide concrete evidence that would hold up in court. There have been, indeed, far too many bishops who have engaged in deliberate cover-ups who should be prosecuted. However, that has not been the standard action of the church, in general. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/50 "2014-08-26T03:14:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Already covered in post #33. If you’ve got alternate breaking news, open a thread and inform the world. > **[There's Going To Be A Massive Investigation Into Senior British Politicians...](https://www.businessinsider.com/british-politician-pedophile-coverup-2014-7)** > > It gets worse. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/07/a-big-political-cover-up-of-1980s-pedophile-ring-in-u-k-parliament/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/07/a-big-political-cover-up-of-1980s-pedophile-ring-in-u-k-parliament/) > **[Has Media Ignored Sex Abuse In School?](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/has-media-ignored-sex-abuse-in-school/)** > > NRO: Why Haven't Teachers Received Same Scrutiny As Catholic Priests? [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358552/california-protects-pedophile-teachers-kevin-d-williamson](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358552/california-protects-pedophile-teachers-kevin-d-williamson) > **[How head of Nick Clegg's school got away with abusing boys for decades](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527283/Cover-let-head-Nick-Cleggs-prep-school-away-abusing-boys-decades.html)** > > Roland Peter Wright, 83, was at the centre of a paedophile ring at Caldicott Prep School in Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire for more than two decades. > **[Penn State child sex abuse scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_scandal)** > > The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years. The scandal began to emerge publicly in March 2011 and broke in early November 2011 when Sandusky was indicted on 52 counts of child molestation, stemming from incidents that occurred between 1994 and 2009. Sandusky was ultimately convicted on 45 cou Ad... Took me a minute. Small potatoes you may say, sure. The power of big numbers on small minds. You don’t care about the kids. You want to attack the RCC. It’s fine, knock yourself out, but don’t try to convince anyone it’s about the kids, for it ain’t. > [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Or teachers with diplomatic immunity. Wow!! Big news!! The RCC invented diplomatic immunity!!! It also invented presumption of innocence and burden of proof on the accuser!!!eleven! > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Exactly. “You’re only picking on the Catholic Church because they’ve been doing it longer and on a much larger scale!” > Well…_DUH!!_ Longer? Sure, whatever gets you through the night. Much larger scale? Do you mean in absolute numbers compared to individual 200-people churches? (in that case DUH!!! to you big time). Or do you mean in relative numbers because, in that case, you are arguing against clear evidence which evidently prooves that statement is at odds with reality. But, since it’s obvious that you don’t care about kids, I imagine it’s okay with you. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Probably, but even so, “Other people do it too!” is hardly a defense - especially from an organization that professes to have a direct link to God and actually preaches to others about morality. It isn’t a defense, period. It’s simply saying that it is false that celibate Catholic priests are more capable of pedophilia, which is what ends up being remembered, fact be damned. > [@](#): > > Do you have any information that says they’re even \*as \*moral and responsible as those other institutions you mention, since you mention them? Read the links. > [@](#): > > It also makes it easier to move their own people around and away from legal trouble, including between countries. Send those who broke the law to prison. > [@](#): > > Isn’t that part of the \*attraction \*of the priesthood as a profession to child molesters? This means you know as a fact that celibate Catholic priesthood is more attactive to pedophiles than other proffesions. Do share that amazingly new piece of information, for every other points that celibate Catholic priests are no more (or less) probalbe to be be pedophiles. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Gosh, I can’t possibly fathom why. > Oh, it’s because they covered up a bunch of kiddie-raping. I musta forgot. No, you forgot so many things it’s embarassing. Read the links. It was nver about the kids, never, not ever. It’s about talking trash (deservedly or not) the RCC. Next time it’s be about no enough gluten-free organic communion wafers. It is not and never was about the kids. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/51 "2014-08-26T03:35:09Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > [British Politician Pedophile Coverup - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/british-politician-pedophile-coverup-2014-7) > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/07/a-big-political-cover-up-of-1980s-pedophile-ring-in-u-k-parliament/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/07/a-big-political-cover-up-of-1980s-pedophile-ring-in-u-k-parliament/) > [Has Media Ignored Sex Abuse In School? - CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/has-media-ignored-sex-abuse-in-school/) > [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358552/california-protects-pedophile-teachers-kevin-d-williamson](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358552/california-protects-pedophile-teachers-kevin-d-williamson) > [Cover-up that let the head of Nick Clegg's prep school get away with abusing boys for decades | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527283/Cover-let-head-Nick-Cleggs-prep-school-away-abusing-boys-decades.html) > [Penn State child sex abuse scandal - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_scandal) > [snip] > No, you forgot so many things it’s embarassing. Read the links. > It was nver about the kids, never, not ever. > It’s about talking trash (deservedly or not) the RCC. Next time it’s be about no enough gluten-free organic communion wafers. > It is not and never was about the kids. So, you’re saying that we should be talking about these other things if we were _really_ concerned about the children? Leaving aside the fact that some of those link are investigations that have just started, and some are editorials(especially the one by the Catholic writer that wrote the piece for the National Review), I’d say the biggest one would be that Penn State Sandusky scandal. Why the hell weren’t us Dopers up in arms about what went on there? [Thank you for pointing out our silence on this very important matter.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=11309544) ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/52 "2014-08-26T04:07:03Z")
But the OP seems to me to imply that the Catholic church’s problem here - which seems to me to have received a fair degree of coverage for what by the standards of our novelty-seeking media is a pretty long time - should continue to receive coverage and, if it doesn’t, some explanation (such as the “nice” pope") is required to account for this. If analogous non-Catholic scandals “are investigations that have only just started”, you might reasonably ask, why have they only just started? It’s not as if the phenomenon of institutional child abuse is a startling new discovery. Should we not have been investigating and exposing these scandals all along? Should we not still be doing so? If we aren’t do we need to look for a “nice pope” explanation for the failure? Back in post #45, Battle Pope mentions the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, whose hearings he (correctly) says are the occasion of (well-deserved) hammering of the Catholic church. What he doesn’t say is that the hearings have already addressed (and been similarly embarrassing to) the Scout Association, the YMCA . Swimming Australia and the Salvation Army (among others). Next month they move on to hearings looking at the response of the Government of the Northern Territory to child sex abuse. You get the picture. I’m not defending the Catholic church here - they deserve everything they are getting. But if your rage against child sexual abuse is directed first and foremost at the Catholic church, you have a one-eyed view of the reality of child sexual abuse, and of the risk factors that contribute to it. And since the reality is not that difficult to find out, you need to ask yourself why. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/53 "2014-08-26T04:23:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you’ve got evidence that there was a systemic and massive cover-up in our public school system involving hush money being paid out and teachers being shuffled all over the country to avoid prosecution and publicity, by all means blow the lid off this great conspiracy! As it’s been said, yes that happened but the Catholics have worked very hard over the past 20 years to clean that all up and pay restitution to victims. My problem is people who bring it up like its still happening. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/54 "2014-08-26T13:30:23Z")
As the OP, let me try again to clarify what I was getting at, I am a faithful, fairly traditionalist Catholic. I have been angered, disgusted and embarrassed by the actions of pedophiles but even MORE by the inaction (at best), stonewalling, hush money, and coverups the CHurch hierarchy has engaged in. Whereas many of my fellow conservative Catholics have tended to circle the wagons and pretend that the problem has been exaggerated by “the liberal media,” I have reluctantly WELCOMED the exposure the liberal media have given the scandals, because exposure is the only way things will ever get better. I am not interested in saying, “Yeah, well, there are sexual scandals everywhere, and the Catholic Church is no worse than any other institution.” That’s an absurdly low bar for my Church. Others have suggested that the Church has come a long way in cleaning things up. I am nowhere near as optimistic. I think there are still far too many bishops whose first reaction to any scandal is “How much do we have to pay to make this go away,” and who’d rather reassign a pedophile priest to a new, unsuspecting parish than to defrock him and/or turn them over to the police. But CURRENTLY… my sense is that the “liberal media” have lost interest in the story. If you think I’m wrong, by all means, refute what I’m saying. That COULD be because it’s an old story and the media eventually tired of it and have moved on to other things. But I suspect that, to some extent, the media covered this story because they saw it as a handy club with which to beat (supposedly) conservative leaders like John Paul II and Benedict XVI over the head. It COULD be a coincidence that media interest in Church scandals petered out right when a Pope PERCEIVED as a liberal on sexual issues came to power… but I doubt it. If anything, it looks to me as if Francis has done LESS to punish and remove sexual predators than Benedict did. Frankly, I do NOT think the problem has been dealt with, I am NOT convinced things are drastically improved, and I don’t think anything WILL get better until some bishops do some jail time for obstruction of justice or as accessories to a felony… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/55 "2014-08-26T15:05:58Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > No, you forgot so many things it’s embarassing. Read the links. > It was nver about the kids, never, not ever. > It’s about talking trash (deservedly or not) the RCC. Next time it’s be about no enough gluten-free organic communion wafers. > It is not and never was about the kids. Bullshit. It’s about the kids. The RCC just happens to be a little more interesting than most offending organizations because it sets itself up as a (arguably _the_) moral touchstone. And the trash is _well_ deserved. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/56 "2014-08-26T16:14:34Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > You don’t care about the kids. You want to attack the RCC. It’s fine, knock yourself out, but don’t try to convince anyone it’s about the kids, for it ain’t… You’re not doing a great job at making anyone interested in reading the rest of your _apologiae_. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > It isn’t a defense, period. I was being kind. It’s an excuse, and a lame one. You \*ought \*to be ashamed of yourself for offering it, but I doubt you are. > [@](#): > > Send those who broke the law to prison. When the organization you’re defending (against child rape!) starts cooperating fully, instead of protecting the likes of Bernard Law, then you can say that. > [@](#): > > This means you know as a fact that celibate Catholic priesthood is more attactive to pedophiles than other proffesions. No, it’s speculation, but reasonably founded. I think you know that. > [@](#): > > It was nver about the kids, never, not ever. > It’s about talking trash (deservedly or not) the RCC. Next time it’s be about no enough gluten-free organic communion wafers. > It is not and never was about the kids. Uh, wow. That’s it, just wow. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/57 "2014-08-26T16:20:58Z")
It’ll be about the gluten-free organic communion wafers when we find them after services having sex with the gluten-free organic communion wafers. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/58 "2014-08-26T16:29:26Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Meanwhile, the sex scandals HAVE died way down - or rather, we seem to have mostly mined the supply of scandals that had accumulated over decades thanks to the Church’s constant cover-ups. At the height of the scandal, there were new revelations of horrific abuse on almost a weekly basis. New stories of abuse are not nearly as frequent these days, and the Church is no longer able (if not willing) to prevent them from being prosecuted. This. When a dam breaks, the natural course of events is a sensational big flood followed by an interesting trickle followed by a dull mud flat. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/59 "2014-08-26T16:39:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So, you’re saying that we should be talking about these other things if we were _really_ concerned about the children? > Leaving aside the fact that some of those link are investigations that have just started, and some are editorials(especially the one by the Catholic writer that wrote the piece for the National Review), I’d say the biggest one would be that Penn State Sandusky scandal. Why the hell weren’t us Dopers up in arms about what went on there? [Thank you for pointing out our silence on this very important matter.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=11309544) [Corrected Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630580) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837/60 "2014-08-26T16:53:36Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Any cites on this? Showing that non-Catholic churches were more likely to report offending clergy to the civil authorities than the Catholic church was? You’re asking me to prove a negative. How about you find evidence of organizational coverups by other churches? You know, shifting preist-equivalents around to other denominations, paying victims’ families hush money, sending preists/bishop equivalents outside the United States so they can’t be extradited for their crimes. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Surely if other religious groups engaged in such activities, it must have made the news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-nice-new-pope-made-media-stop-caring-about-pedophile-priests/679837.md?page=4)