Silent Sins of the Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has sometimes been in denial over the sexual abuse of children by clergy but must now move forward to face up to the scandal. Neither the all-male celibate priesthood nor homosexuality caused the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis, according to a five-year study commissioned by bishops from the faith. It says the abuse occurred because priests who were poorly prepared and stressed landed amid the social and sexual turmoil of the 1960s and 70s, The New York Times reported yesterday. The 'blame Woodstock' explanation has been floated by bishops for years but the study was likely to be regarded as the most authoritative analysis of the scandal in the Catholic Church in America, the paper reported. The study concluded that many more boys than girls were victimised, not because the perpetrators were gay, but simply because the priests had more access to boys than to girls, the newspaper reported.