<And if there's anyone who?s Catholic who feels offended by the question, then I would only say, too bad, wake yourself up to the reality of a very, very serious problem in your Church, this sickness among the Catholic clergy ? and by all means never leave your son alone with a priest!

hmmm Matt, lets see you are from England right? Not the freindliest place for Catholics I seem to recall. . .

The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is in the grips of a major scandal (well, I guess it would or could be a scandal only if the Catholic Church took child molestation seriously, which it doesn?t) and almost daily revelations about the scope of this evil infesting the Catholic Church are horrifying lay people and the public at large.

Well I don't condone their actions on trying to cover it up, but on the other hand I don't blame them either. The reports on Catholic preists molesting children are similar to reports on children getting guns and shooting up a place. They makes great headlines.

I speculate for two reasons:

A. Its such a shocking story that the media reports it, much mroe shocking than your normal gang shooting and likewise your normal crackpot child molester.

Catholic preists are expected to have a higher standard than say the average 'protestant' (protestantism as a whole; example: self ordainment, hows that for enforcing standards?). Similarly yoru average over priveleged middle class white kid is held to a higher standard that any inner city thug shooting up peopel thier own age. Thus the Catholic preist child molester is reported overwelmingly as well as the middleclass white kid with a gun and you think theres an epidemic.

B. (and this sort of builds on A) theres a political motive behind it? Either scenario does manipulate people to support certain view and hold certain opinions that are not nbecesarily true. It coudl be intentional, I know of media organizations that go out of their way to conceal information and selectively report to futher opinions on both topics. Is the section of the media that is doing intentionally the majority or count for a large percentage of media institutions reporting on it? I don't know.

Now I get the impression Catholicism is under attack. Especially from the more liberal side of the political spectrum. I often cynically wonder why Catholicism isn't granted the 'protected' status that the jewish religion gets or that african americans get by the liberal side, as I do consider it a minority in America (especially in the South).

But truth is I wouldn't want that, cause I only want fiarness and I would not want some sort of complex to develop amoung catholics to where anything that bring up catholicism unless we do it is 'offensive' the way some minorities act. But regardless. . .

The diocese in Boston I am sure feels the same unfair preasure from the media, and polarly reacts to it, regardless of evidnece or truth in any one account.

In closing I was an alter server for upwards of ten years, been a catholic all my life, and have never met a single preist who came onto me or looked at me funny or looked at anyone funny. Now, I have met an alcoholic Cathlic preist, but he was Irish. . . and I think he's dead now anyway from liver failure. I heard his named called out on the 'we pray for ______" list during church. My great uncle is a preist, my uncle went to seminary school (dropped out, did theology instead, is presently married and teaching college - uh oh, a male teacher? MUST BE A CHILD MOLESTOR ANYWAY!) Heck I've even considered becoming a preist and talked to clergy about it as well . . . cept I woudl probably beat shitless any child molestor if I ever crossed the path of one and that is agaisnt the rules. Its not a commandment , but I am pretty sure 'though shall not beat people shitless' is somewhere in the bible.

-Justin Kelly