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[fpb]

To judge by my f-list and other Catholic bloggers I have seen, Mary Eberstadt's article on First Things about the vindication of Humanae Vitae has made more waves than anything in years. I suppose that is because it goes further than most Christians had been thinking of going. While most people are aware that abortion is at least controversial,

Comments

[stigandnasty919]

It is certainly an interesting article. There were a few things I didn't like, her definition of Family Ties would not have included my family and her begrudging acceptance that human rights organisations have spoken out against forced sterilisation showed more about her own prejudices than anything else, but in general there were important points to think about

[fishlivejournal]

Hmm. Why would secular society settle around *one* norm? After all, there isn't a single standard to hold secular society to, so norms developing in different areas/groups would have no reason be similar

[fpb]

The earliest case of sexual abuse by a priest that I am aware of dates to 1325 AD, and I suggest that you consider what philosophical pederasty really amounted to in Athens and similar places long before that. Pederastic inititation of youths is common in several societies, as every anthropologist knows. Where there are fair young bodies, there is temptation. Child abuse is not more flourishing among priests than among schoolteachrs, scoutmasters, social workers, parents and foster parents, and orphanage workers. If anything, it is less so - if the statistic that up to 8% of American state school teachers have at some point been involved in sexual relations with minors is true. Even so, there was a definite spike in homosexual abuse by priests in the seventies and eighties; the reasons for this are cultural and, if you remember what the seventies were like, not too difficult to understand

correct three times.

[fishlivejournal]

Sadly, you are quite correct about child abuse, it has a long and horrible history

Re: correct three times.

[fpb]

Just one thing: if other avenues are closed off - and the complete lack of any real punishment in the teaching profession suggests otherwise - why should you assume that the priesthood would remain open? The same pressures, mainly bad publicity, apply, and some, such as predatory lawsuits, apply a lot more (since, under American law, you can exact a lot more from the Church than from a public school). What is more, you seem not to consider that the priesthood is a hard profession to enter - including the equivalent of a degree course as well as several levels of assessment - and that the Pope has made it very clear that seminaries and other institutions are expected to positively reject unsuitable candidates.