# What is it about the Catholic Priesthood that attracts so many pedophiles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 21, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212 "2010-03-21T05:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/21 "2010-03-21T16:25:29Z")
Followup to my previous post: [ > [@](#): > > Occurrence in child sex offenders > A perpetrator of child sexual abuse is, despite all medical definitions, commonly assumed to be a paedophile, and referred to as such; however, there may be other motivations for the crime (such as stress, marital problems, or the unavailability of an adult partner), much as adult rape can have non-sexual reasons. Thus, child sexual abuse alone may or may not be an indicator that its perpetrator is a paedophile; most perpetrators of it are in fact not primarily interested in children. > > Those who have committed sexual crimes against children, but do not meet the normal diagnosis criteria for pedophilia, are referred to as situational, opportunistic, or regressed offenders, whereas offenders primarily attracted toward children are called structured, preferential, or fixated paedophiles, as their orientation is fixed by the structure of their personality. **It is estimated that only 2 to 10 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators meet the regular criteria for pedophilia.** (Kinsey-Report, Lautmann, Brongersma, Groth). ]([http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/nov2006/pedophile1.html](http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/nov2006/pedophile1.html)) Bolding added. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/22 "2010-03-21T17:04:13Z")
I remember just reading… where was it?—ah, yes, here it is! A Psychology Today article: [Beyond Bad-Apple Priests: Who the Pedophiles Really Are](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-sex/201003/beyond-bad-apple-priests-who-the-pedophiles-really-are). The article claims that only a tiny fraction of child sex abusers are priests, and goes on to talk about who child sex abusers typically are. > [@](#): > > While celibacy and sexual repression may contribute to Catholic priests’ risk for pedophilia, child sexual exploitation is most often triggered by proximity to children and the opportunity to exercise authority over them. It’s more likely to happen in the child’s home than outside it. The perpetrator is most likely to be someone the child and parents know, for younger children, a caregiver, for teens, a social contact. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/23 "2010-03-21T17:04:31Z")
Oh, now see, that’s a good point. We wouldn’t want to slander those poor, misunderstood child rapists by calling them pedophiles. Just kidding. Your “cite” is total bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/24 "2010-03-21T17:15:17Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Oh, now see, that’s a good point. We wouldn’t want to slander those poor, misunderstood child rapists by calling them pedophiles. What’s wrong with calling child rapists “child rapists”, pedophiles “pedophiles”, and pedophiles who have raped children “pedophilic child rapist”? None of the terms is particularly endearing, so it’s not like we’re using euphemisms. We’re simply categorizing things based on tangible differences. Doing that helps you study cause and effect and so suggest workable solutions. Not recognizing different sub-classes of misbehavior simply prevents you from being able to find proper, workable solutions because you’re trying to solve 10 problems with a single solution without the benefit of taking into account that there is more than one problem. Regardless, the point remains that if you define “pedophile” as a person who _actively_ does things to prey on children, and you use that definitional criteria to obtain a group of research subjects, then unsurprisingly you’ll find that all of your research subjects _actively_ do things to prey on children. That’s a rather self-fulfilling prophecy. And that essentially is the definition of a pedophile that is used in most research (at least that I’ve seen.) But, most people who molest children don’t fit that criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/25 "2010-03-21T17:26:58Z")
Better cite: > **[Situational Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse](https://books.google.com/books?id=iOo3Bu1GY64C&lpg=PA7&ots=At-WMiVR0a&dq=predatory%20situational%20opportunistic%20child%20molestation&lr=&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q=&f=false)** > > This volume presents the first systematic attempt to apply a situational crime prevention rationale to understanding and preventing sexual offenses against children. Leading criminologists and sex offender researchers highlight the small but growing... ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/26 "2010-03-21T18:09:46Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The difference is, the molesting Baptist or Episcopalian minister is gonna get tossed out on his ear if his abuses come to light. The molesting Catholic priests were given a great deal of aid and support in their activities by a sympathetic Church hierarchy that would hush up the allegations against such a priest, and move him on to greener pastures. That’s a different question, though. The OP is assuming there’s something about Catholic priests that make them more likely to molest. > [@](#): > > The RCC is seemingly the only church with an \*institutional \*problem here, which it resolutely fails to acknowledge. Has there been a single statement by the RCC PTB that apologizes not just for the presence of pedophile priests in its ranks, but for the role of Church higher-ups in protecting them and finding them new parishes to prey on? I sure haven’t heard of one. Actually, the Pope just apologized on Friday to Irish Catholics: > **[Pastoral Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland...](https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland.html?hpid=topnews)** > > Ireland, Catholics of Ireland, pastoral letter > [@](#): > > Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person. Urgent action is needed to address these factors, which have had such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families, and have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing.. . . > > 1. To my brother bishops > > It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise. They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon law. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/27 "2010-03-21T18:18:00Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > That’s a different question, though. The OP is assuming there’s something about Catholic priests that make them more likely to molest. Not unless you read a different OP than I did. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/28 "2010-03-21T18:30:34Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Actually, the Pope just apologized on Friday to Irish Catholics: > > [Pastoral Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland (March 19, 2010)](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html?hpid=topnews) Only what, a decade and a half after allegations arose publicly with regard to priests abusing children. I gotta hand it to you Ratzinger. You’re on the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/29 "2010-03-21T18:34:51Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Availability. These guys have taken oaths of celibacy, so no wives or girlfriends to speak of. But they’re around altar boys all the time. If there were altar girls we’d likely see a fair amount of them molested as well. That’s what I’ve gathered. But there are altar girls, and have been for some years new. At least since 1994, when it was explicity permitted in canon law, and I think even before that, when some dioceses were flying under the radar, so to speak, and doing it without explicit permission in canon law. This is what I think the situation is, anyway. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will come along and correct me. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/30 "2010-03-21T18:39:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The RCC is seemingly the only church with an \*institutional \*problem here, which it resolutely fails to acknowledge. Has there been a single statement by the RCC PTB that apologizes not just for the presence of pedophile priests in its ranks, but for the role of Church higher-ups in protecting them and finding them new parishes to prey on? I sure haven’t heard of one. Well, true, but the RCC is the only church that \*is \*an institution, in this sense. In just about any other church (let’s exclude the Orthodox Churches here), the minister/priest/rabbi/whatever answers to the congregation at his or her church, which hires and fires (subject to contractual limitations) ministers at will. It’s entirely possible that a Methodist congregation, say, may become aware that its minister has been accused of some kind of improper sexual conduct, and may choose to dismiss that minister, but not turn him over to the authorities. What that congregation can’t do, and what the RCC is horribly guilty of having done all too often, is foist that minister off on some other Methodist church. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/31 "2010-03-21T19:43:42Z")
I agree, the biggest factor in this mess, is the fact that the bishops did not confront the issue straight on. Instead, they sent these perverts to treatment centers, then transferred them (to wreak further havoc). The late ex-priest John Gaughan admitted to molesting over 100 children, in his career. Had he been arrested and jailed immediately, a lot of poor kids would have never been harmed. Part of this was due to attitudes in the 1950’s and 60’s-the gym teacher where I went to school (Jr. HS) was an active molester-he would take kids on summer “outings” and regularly molest his victims. I always knew there was something strange about this guy-he would stare at us as we were showering (after gym class). Finally, some kid told his parents-and the guy left townas far as I know, he was not prosecuted.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/32 "2010-03-21T20:11:16Z")
**Sage Rat** , your cite says that most predators aren’t pedophiles. But you said that most people who have sex with children aren’t predators. I would argue that the people having sex with children are by definition predators, even if they aren’t necessarily pedophiles. (I’m not saying I agree with that, just that to my mind pretty much anyone having sex with a child is a predator and abuser.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/33 "2010-03-21T20:11:37Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Not unless you read a different OP than I did. Possibly, I read an OP that asked: > [@](#): > > What is it about the Catholic Priesthood that seems to attract pedophiles like flies to honey? which assumes that there’s something specific about the Catholic priesthood that attracts pedophiles. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/34 "2010-03-21T20:15:00Z")
I personally suspect, although I have no statistics showing this and almost by definition there can’t be statistics showing this if my hypothesis is true, that there are less acts of pedophilia happening today than at any other time in history. I do not mean by this that there is any smaller proportion of people who wish to commit pedophilic acts, regardless of whether they are solely attracted to children or are only attracted in the proper circumstances. I suspect that the proportion of people with those tendencies doesn’t vary over time. Paradoxically, there may be more people who have been convicted of pedophilia now than ever before. That’s part of what I think of as a certain respect (almost a paranoid protectiveness) toward children today. Children used to not get believed as much. Children used to not get respected as much. Children used to not get sheltered as much. I suspect that much more pedophilia was ignored in the past, so it doesn’t show up in the crime statistics. More pedophiles today are holding themselves back from their desired acts, partly because they have already been convicted and know that they are being watched, partly because they fear getting convicted, and partly because more of them are in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/35 "2010-03-21T20:16:10Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Possibly, I read an OP that asked: > > which assumes that there’s something specific about the Catholic priesthood that attracts pedophiles. Which is different from what you said in post #26: “The OP is assuming there’s something about Catholic priests that make them more likely to molest.” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/36 "2010-03-21T20:28:15Z")
I don’t particularly see the difference between the two statements, but ok. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/37 "2010-03-21T20:31:44Z")
Well, the one is saying that pedophiles come to the Catholic Priesthood because there’s something in it attractive to them. So someone who’s already a pedophile might think, “Oh a career path that lets me be around kids.” The other is saying that Catholic priests are more likely to become molesters. I don’t know, maybe not being around women makes them more likely to molest children. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/38 "2010-03-21T20:47:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I agree, the biggest factor in this mess, is the fact that the bishops did not confront the issue straight on. Instead, they sent these perverts to treatment centers, then transferred them (to wreak further havoc). > The late ex-priest John Gaughan admitted to molesting over 100 children, in his career. Had he been arrested and jailed immediately, a lot of poor kids would have never been harmed. > Part of this was due to attitudes in the 1950’s and 60’s-the gym teacher where I went to school (Jr. HS) was an active molester-he would take kids on summer “outings” and regularly molest his victims. I always knew there was something strange about this guy-he would stare at us as we were showering (after gym class). Finally, some kid told his parents-and the guy left townas far as I know, he was not prosecuted.☹ The psycho-medical model of the day contended that this condition was treatable. Sending offending priests off to treatment and then reassigning them was not just something that the church fathers used to cover up a scandal, it was what at least a portion of the medical community was recommending at that time. Last year, a town in my area hired a teacher from another town. A few days before the start of the school year, it came out that he had been fired from the other school system for “inappropriate” contact with students - but in the deal that allowed him to be fired, the town agreed to give him a positive recommendation, with no mention of the reason for his termination. This didn’t happen in the 1970s, it happened in 2009. It ain’t just priests, and it ain’t just the church. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/39 "2010-03-21T21:07:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The other is saying that Catholic priests are more likely to become molesters. I don’t know, maybe not being around women makes them more likely to molest children. Maybe, but like the study above showed, Catholic priests aren’t more likely to become molesters. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212/40 "2010-03-21T21:22:27Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Availability. These guys have taken oaths of celibacy, so no wives or girlfriends to speak of. But they’re around altar boys all the time. If there were altar girls we’d likely see a fair amount of them molested as well. That’s what I’ve gathered. More thoughts on this. I grew up in the Catholic Church. I grew up in an entirely Catholic environment. School, church, after-school activities, social life, everything. Look, priests are around women _all the time_. There is ample opportunity for priests to have sexual relationships with adult women, and believe me, it happens. And not only because priests are manipulating women into relationships – often enough the woman goes into it with her eyes open. Of course, this does not come to the attention of the criminal justice system (and it shouldn’t, of course – our legal system should not be in the business of enforcing the Catholic Church’s celibacy requirement). So I think that the idea that priests are sexually abusing children or adolescents only because they don’t have access to women doesn’t really hold water. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-the-catholic-priesthood-that-attracts-so-many-pedophiles/533212.md?page=3)