Oh, Those Relentless Numbers...

In this excellent report by Bill Donohue about the embarrassing deposition of David Clohessy, we learn that in 2008 SNAP spent $92,000 on travel. I'm guessing that it was "time travel", especially after reading this news release from the Catholic League, dated April 11, 2012, which summarizes a study done by a Georgetown institute.

The headlines should read, “Abuse Problem Near Zero Among Priests,” but that is not what is being reported.

According to the 2011 Official Catholic Directory, there are 40,271 priests in the U.S. The report says there were 23 credible accusations of the sexual abuse of a minor made against priests for incidences last year. Of that number, 9 were deemed credible by law enforcement. Which means that 99.98% of priests nationwide had no such accusation made against them last year. Nowhere is this being reported.

Here are more data from the report that won’t appear elsewhere: almost all the offenses involve homosexuality. Indeed, 16% of the credible allegations made against priests who work in dioceses or eparchies, and 6% of religious order priests, involved pedophilia. In the former category, 82% of the alleged victims were male; in the latter, the figure is 94%. In other words, we are not talking about kids as victims, and we are not talking about females: we are talking about postpubescent males who were allegedly violated by adult males. That’s called homosexuality.

When did these alleged offenses take place? Overall, 68% took place between 1960 and 1984; 1975-1979 being the most common period (among religious order priests, 33% took place before 1960, and another 40% took place between 1960-1980). In 75% of all the cases, the accused priest is either dead or has been dismissed.

I've often wondered what would have happened to me if I were born a Catholic and had been raised during this turbulent period in church history. Would I have kept my faith? I know it's not good to second-guess God's plan for ones life, so I don't dwell on it. But my money is on something like, "Pauli loses faith; blames it on liberal priests and homosexual abuse scandal." To prove this, of course, is as impossible as time travel. Or vanishing into thin air, which is most likely what David Clohessy wanted to do in the middle of that deposition.