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	The Mythology of a Scandal By Thomas G. Plante philly.com February 26, 2011 http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/116901888.html?cmpid=15585797 Philadelphia is the latest of dozens of cities in the United States and abroad to see more revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests, as well as ensuing cover-ups by the church. Every perpetrator of this abuse deserves condemnation, and every victim deserves justice. But many Americans remain remarkably misinformed about the problem, particularly the extent to which it's endemic to the church. Here are five of the most common untrue or unsubstantiated claims about sexual abuse in the church: Catholic priests are more likely to be abusers. In fact, according to the best available data, including a comprehensive 2004 report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 4 percent of Catholic clergy members in the United States sexually victimized minors from 1950 to 2002. There's no credible published evidence that corresponding rates of abuse are significantly lower among clergy from other faith traditions or among men in general. Government and other reports show that during similar periods of time, 5 to 7 percent of public-school teachers committed such abuse. And 4 percent is certainly lower than the proportion of the general male population classified as sex offenders. The sexual-abuse problem is due to celibacy. If members of the Catholic clergy aren't more likely than other clergy members or men in general to be sex offenders, why should celibacy be the smoking gun? Certainly, most sex offenders are not celibate clergy members. In fact, most are married or in other relationships. Furthermore, men who are not having sex due to their inability to attract suitable partners, disabilities, or distressed relationships generally do not turn to children or teenagers for sexual gratification. Rather, they typically turn to arrangements with other consenting adults, adult prostitutes, pornography, and masturbation. Most church sex offenders are pedophiles. Actually, the 2004 John Jay study and others clearly indicate that about 80 percent of clergy sex offenders are not really pedophiles. Because they abused postpubescent teens rather than prepubescent children, the term pedophile priest is a misnomer. This distinction is important because we must make sure efforts at prevention, supervision, and treatment target the right populations. The abuse problem is the fault of gay priests. Studies show that 80 percent of the victims of sexual victimization by Catholic clergy are boys, and we know that the church has a large number of priests who are homosexual in orientation. However, no evidence exists to suggest that sexual orientation contributes to sex crimes against children. Homosexual men are by definition attracted to other men, not children. The research on this issue has been carefully reviewed and considered by all the major professional health and mental-health organizations - including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics - and all have concluded that homosexuality is not a factor in sex crimes against children. The Catholic Church is not safe for children. In fact, nearly all the cases of sexual abuse by clergy that have been revealed in the press took place from the 1960s through the early 1980s. The John Jay study found that cases of sexual abuse by priests decreased dramatically starting in the early to mid-'80s. Curiously, this is also true in other offending groups, such as schoolteachers. Since revelations of sexual abuse in the church began in 2002, the incidence of it in the United States has been extremely low. Zero-tolerance policies, church employee training, yearly independent audits, and other efforts since then have been effective. Emotions may have led us to give credence to the above claims. But unless and until objective research proves otherwise, they defy reason, logic, and hard facts. Whatever our opinions about the Catholic Church and the sexual-abuse scandal, we should strive to rely on high-quality research and data, as well as logic and reason. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the clergy sexual-abuse crisis in America, perhaps we will make some progress on that score. I, for one, hope and pray that we do. Thomas G. Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University in California, has treated about 60 sex-offending clergy members and written extensively on the subject. He is also vice chairman of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Youth for the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, but he does not speak for the board. He can be reached at tplante@scu.edu
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