Tradition and The Secret Sin Of the Church

However, I believe it is the majority of the public, not the Catholic Church, that is wrong in addressing the recent scandal over allegations of child molestation and cover-ups. I was originally convinced that the solution would be to allow priests to get married and to abandon the celibacy rule that exists within the church.

But this oft-cited solution does not address the more pressing issue. That issue is that the church does not create pedophiles; child abusers usually become such because they are victims of their own traumatic psychological experiences at a young age.

Thus, while Catholicism does perpetuate adherence to a lot of things in its tradition, I can guarantee you that molestation is not one of them. The idea that priests would start getting married because the celibacy requirement is done away with cannot be validated.

A pedophile is a pedophile; he is not going to suddenly marry a woman when he is not sexually attracted to one in the first place. Yes, he might get involved in a relationship to legitimize himself socially, but that still does not keep him from being a molester, which is the more important issue at hand.

Allowing priests to marry might indeed allow them to resolve some of their sexual frustration, but what good does that do when they are still not fulfilling their need to be with a child? Once again, it's not the celibacy rule that fosters this emotion.

Last time I checked, Little League coaches were not required to remain celibate, but there were several stories a few years ago about a large number of cases that uncovered molestation. And it's not just Little League coaches either; it's Boy Scout troop leaders and even the guy two cubicles down the hall. So to say the Catholic Church is a breeding ground for pedophilia is not really valid.

I think those who do have a tendency toward child molestation might be drawn to the Catholic Church because of the close relationship with young men and the sense of belonging religion engenders.

Many people believe that those who get behind the altar are incapable of corruption. So, yes, a pedophile might seek that kind of environment because no one would dare accuse a priest of doing anything wrong as he is committed to God only, right?

The key phrase there was that a pedophile seeks that environment; the Catholic Church does not say: "Want to become a pedophile? Apply for the priesthood here."

Because I have spent most of this column telling you why this Band-Aid answer is wrong, I guess it's only fitting to provide a solution of my own.

Religion, especially Catholicism, spends so much time telling people how to live "morally straight" lives that people don't feel like they can be a part of such a tradition. James Gill, in a piece for ABC News, wrote that priests have often told him, "There was no one knowledgeable about human sexuality on the seminary staff to guide them toward a resolution of their difficulty."

Maybe if they had been able to find help early on in their religious training then they would not have this problem later in life that makes them and the church look bad. However, the Catholic Church doesn't dare talk openly about issues of sexuality.

This would be fine if it didn't meddle in other, highly personal aspects of its followers' lives such as who they should vote for and a woman's right to privacy in regards to her own body. But of course, the latter point would not be an issue if the Catholic Church dealt openly with human sexuality in the first place.

I think a lot of people would benefit from this open discussion, seeing as how religion usually ranks up there with family as important influences in one's life. So while I don't believe that the Catholic Church manufactures pedophiles, I do believe it can go a long way toward providing a solution for such behavior: one that values education rather than changing sacred doctrine.

Angry Catholics can send hate mail to Ken at kchandle@email.unc.edu.