There is a large response from American Catholics that this “investigation” is looking at the wrong problem in the wrong place. They are sure the problem is solely with pedophile priests in dioceses where the bishop has refused to acknowledge a problem in the first place. I agree that this is definitely part of the problem. For too many years, bishops and archbishops not so much looked the other way as refused to admit that men under their “command” were committing acts of depravity and ugliness under the cover of their cassock and the cloak of the Church. We must continue to root out those that acted with indifference and make them accountable for their inaction or irresponsibility. On the other hand, a majority of the victims were male and the offenders, as near as I can tell, were all male, so to ignore the possibility that a majority of the offenders were homosexual is tantamount to burying one’s head in the sand. That is not to say that every homosexual seminarian or priest is a pedophile but it does bear examining.
What are we, as Americans and as Catholics to do about this problem. The military tried, “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” to no real success. A general purging of the seminaries and rectories would be unjust, not only to those ousted, but to the communities they serve as well. We are a society that is used to having a say in the events that effect our lives. Should we be able to tell Rome, “Hey, this is America! We’ll take care of the problem. It’s what we do.” or should we serve up a large piece of humble pie (a la’ mode of course) and allow parties from the outside evaluate the situation and suggests a course of action?

Jeff