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	Sex Abuse Has Become the Excuse By Richard RoBards Central Kentucky News-Journal October 9, 2006 http://www.cknj.com/articles/2006/10/09/opinion/01richard.txt For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I remember that from a science class I took as a student at St. Joe Prep in Bardstown back in the 60s. I don't know that I ever fully understood the scientific implications, but in real life scientific gobbledygook is more just a reality check. Being a Catholic now is a lot tougher than it was when I was growing up. It used to be that Protestants simply thought that we danced too often and partook of the Communion cup a bit too much. But that was then. I see a lot of people of different religions dancing and drinking. I don't have a problem with it. My mom was old school while I was an adolescent and, according to her, hanging out with Protestants wasn't cool - if not penal. She made confessional penance look like child's play if she thought I was spending too much time with non-Catholics. I kept studying my Baltimore Catechism but I couldn't find where it was a sin. But time has a way of healing such thinking, and as I grew older my friendships with non-Catholics grew as expansive as the friendships (which, by the way, hardly exist anymore) I cultivated in Catholic grade and high school. Then came the child sex abuse scandal of the 1990s and all the embarrassment involved with priests (and some nuns) who allegedly took advantage of young children under their care. Many of those allegations have proven costly both financially and to my church's reputation. I'm sure some of it happened, but I'm still scratching my head why it took so long for it to become public - hiding those actions from public scrutiny for decades. In the 60 years I've been a Catholic, I guess I've just been lucky. I can honestly say that I have never had a bad association with a priest, brother or nun. I've had a few run-ins with some of them when my homework didn't show up on time, but other than that the clergy I'm familiar with have all been top drawer. But a few bad apples can spoil the whole bushel basket - or the perception of a religion. That is an unfortunate consequence of the actions of some and an embarrassment we all shoulder. Child sexual abuse is a serious problem. Just read this newspaper. Hardly a week goes by when there isn't a story about some adult taking advantage of a child. But instead of being one of society's most serious and disgusting problems, child sexual abuse has become the excuse of choice for those who choose to do their own inexcusable acts. I could have predicted the response from Mark Foley, the U.S. Congressman embarrassed by the revelation that he sent explicit sexual e-mails to Congressional Pages, who was forced last week to resign. Basically the devil made him do it. He claims he was abused by a priest when he was a youth. He may have been abused, but he didn't gain elected access to the highest level of government by playing the abuse card. We're learning every day that there are sick people in every walk of life and the security of innocent children is threatened at virtually every turn. Mark Foley knew what he was doing through e-mails was wrong. Now, when he gets caught with his hand in the World Wide Web cookie jar, he wants to deflect blame to some unnamed priest. Please, if you can recover your life and psyche enough to get elected to Congress, you should have a firm grasp on right and wrong. Don't go blaming a priest who likely isn't around to defend himself.
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