Editorial

The issue of sexual abuse of minors by priests in the Catholic Church has led to calls for changes in many other kinds of church laws, from eliminating celibacy to ordination of women.

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It seems to me that members of the media and many others -- both within the Catholic Church and without -- are mixing issues that have little, if anything, to do with each other.

Pedophilia not limited to Catholic priests. Take the issue of pedophilia. This is defined as a sexual perversion in which children are the preferred sexual object. Pedophiles can be men and women of any age or occupation, including married men.

Pedophilia is certainly not limited to Catholic priests. Philip Jenkins, a professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University (who is not a Catholic himself), says clergy of all denominations have been found to be pedophiles. "You name me a denomination and I'll give you a case," Jenkins told The Catholic Standard & Times, Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper. "Some (denominations) with huge problems include Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Jews, Baptists, Pentecostals, Episcopalians -- you name them."

One of the most extreme cases of clergy sex abuse in U.S. history involved a Pentecostal minister named Tony Leyva, who molested several hundred boys in the 1980s, Jenkins said. But few Americans have heard of Leyva, while some molesters who are former Catholic priests have become household names.

Catholic factions. Why the discrepancy in reporting? Some might blame anti-Catholicism in the media. Jenkins doesn't believe that is the reason. Instead, he attributes the inconsistent reporting to various groups within the Catholic Church who have agendas that are not related to the sexual abuse scandals.

"In the 1980s, as cases came to light, it was very often Catholic factions themselves who made this out to be a Catholic issue," he noted. "Liberals within the church said, 'See, this is a dreadful problem. It shows what happens when you don't have women priests.' Conservatives said, 'This shows what happens when you have gay priests.'"

Jenkins says this attitude was adopted by the secular press, which continues to publish articles and air interviews with people (many Catholics) who have their own agendas in mind to "reform" the church.

Don't mix up issues. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago was asked recently whether he thought the church should consider dropping the celibacy requirement. He responded, "The problem is not celibacy. The problem is with celibates who don't keep their vow of celibacy. It's like saying that because of adultery, we should do away with marriage."

Good point. Obviously sexual abuse by clergy of any denomination is a terrible offense. But we don't solve it by mixing up and confusing the issues or letting people with their own agendas dominate discussion of these issues both within and outside our church.

Mary C. Uhler, editor