Essay - I Will Never Hurt Your Children; I Love Your Children.'...

I will never hurt your children; I love your children.' So thundered Fr. Percival D'Silva, trembling, in his sermon at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Chevy Chase, MD," wrote Maureen Dowd in her weekly column in the New York Times (Dowd, 2002). Fr. ***** has been one of the few to speak out against the defensive *****titude of the Catholic Church—one ***** obfuscation, dishonesty and callousness to the victims. Fr. Percival called for Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, co-indicted in several child abuse cases, to resign.

The Catholic Church has been rocked recently by allegations of sexual abuses—especially aga*****st children. The problem is not isolated but all pervading. The cases ***** child, sexual abuses are about the same percentage as the general population. Most of the c*****es are not, in the strictest sense pedophilic—sex with pre-pubescent children, ***** ephebophilia—abuse of adolescent children. In a comprehensive study of 2,252 priests for 30 years, only one case of pedophilia was found. It *****volved a priest with two six ye*****r-old nieces. Between 5 and 10 percent of priests were pederasts (ephebophiles). (Jenkins, 1996)

The first nationalized case ***** child sexual abuse by a priest w*****s in Lafayette, LA; Gilbert Gauthe accused of abusing 37 boys. Gauthe was sentenced to 27 ***** imprisonment. The biggest case so far has been ***** of John Geoghan who abused over 130 ***** between 1962 and 1995. ***** recently, 54 year-old Russell Dillard was suspended over allegations of molesting two teenage girls 18 years ago. Older minors have also been abused: In Florida, the bishop ***** Palm Beach, Anthony O'Connell, was accused of sexually molesting a seminarian who approached ***** to complain ***** abuse by ***** older seminarians. Bishop Keith Symons of Missouri admitting to molesting five boys earlier in his c*****er. And 165 *****s ***** brought against priests in ***** Mexico. Under pressure, ***** ***** turned over the names ***** 40 priests ***** *****m allegations were brought up. (Cannon & Sheler, 2002)

Cardinal Law and Cardinal Egan—*****mer Bishop of Bridgeport, CT and now Archbishop of New York—***** also ***** named in lawsuits. Though no direct ***** have been ***** up aga*****st these two, they have been held responsible for not holding the priests involved responsible—Sin of Omission. The response of the Catholic Church has been typically one of ignoring ***** ***** at its root. The natural response was to transfer the priest to ano*****r parish where the ***** would continue. ***** Church would, behind closed doors, admonish the priest. The tragedy of the situation is that no priest was held accountable until ***** Catholic Church ***** taken to task recently, under the weight of so many cases coming to light.

So why should the ***** comply with the law? Because the sexual abuse, in any way, shape or *****m, whether perpetrated against a pre-pubescent, teen*****ger or adult ***** a crime. Non-clergy h*****s ***** sentenced to several years' impri*****nment. Even after their release, pedophilia is the only crime that follows criminals throughout ***** lives—Megan's Law (Megan's Law Online,