Christians: Forever committing the lifetime of slow terror.

/... :D

More proof that religion is an insult to human dignity.

Investigators, working with the support of the Belgian Catholic Church received 475 complaints of child abuse committed in the 1950s through to the late 1980s by Catholic clergy.

"We can say that no congregation escapes sexual abuse of minors by one or several of its members," the commission concluded.

and later in the article this:

But the commission concluded that no evidence of a systematic Church cover-up was found.

Wat?

Every church? BINGO!!

I heard that next they are going to build a Church within 2 blocks of a school...where's the outrage?

Marc Dutroux was right... there is a large pedophile ring operating in Belgium...

TheOnion: I heard that next they are going to build a Church within 2 blocks of a school...where's the outrage?

I heard that they're building schools NEXT to churches... And sometimes even attached to churches...

Well, when your country is named something that offensive, can it be at all unexpected that your people behave in similarly offensive ways?

I can't wait for the day when we finally burn them all down.

So the problem is not the church but the gay priests? Maybe we should just outlaw homosexuality...

*snickers*

Child abusers would/will find a victim regardless. The church, more so with its overwhelming attempts to control and the easily impressed young minds, provides an easy picking ground that is seemingly (un)reasonably safe.

I don't think the problem is, at its root, gays nor is the problem the church. The problem is child abusers being granted access to victims and keeping the cycle of abuse going. The church, on the other hand, does have some to answer for in that they appear to have made attempts to cover it up again and again and again. I can understand wanting to protect your own and wanting to protect your image but there is a time when you simply need to be open, do the right thing, and accept the repercussions regardless of the damage it may do to you, your organization's members, or your reputation. I'm afraid that time was quite some time ago...

Miserable fat Belgian bastards!

Mouser: UnspokenVoice: So the problem is not the church but the gay priests? Maybe we should just outlaw homosexuality...

You know, we didn't have this problem back when we burned sodomite priests at the stake.

At least not more than once per priest I suppose. We can't do that today. There would be, dare I say, hell to pay.

farkeruk: UnspokenUnspokenVoice: Child abusers would/will find a victim regardless. The church, more so with its overwhelming attempts to control and the easily impressed young minds, provides an easy picking ground that is seemingly (un)reasonably safe.

I don't think the problem is, at its root, gays nor is the problem the church. The problem is child abusers being granted access to victims and keeping the cycle of abuse going.

Having a celibate priesthood is more likely to raise the percentage of child abusing priests. You reduce the pool of available talent to choose from to a subset that includes the genuinely chaste and the child abusers.

It is an absolutely horrible cycle. There are so many things that need changing and nobody willing to change them. Ignoring the church aspect, for a moment, I am actually convinced that we need to do away with age specific numbers for pretty much anything and let each case be judged by its own merits. I'm also convinced we need to spend less time concerning ourselves with what other people are doing to each other. I'm not advocating molesting children (of course) but I think if we took the pressure off things may even out. Nobody should have to identify themselves by their sexuality. The whole gay and proud thing is retarded, as an example, how about just human and proud? There is no need for me to run around telling people that I'm a heterosexual. Just take the pressure off, get the sexuality back into the bedroom where it belongs.

As much as I'd like to blame the church I'm afraid some of the blame lies at the feet of the "gay community." Running around screaming about your sexual preferences doesn't help. It's okay to be abnormal! It's okay to be different. I'm not suggesting people keep it in the closet, just in their home. That goes for heterosexuals as well as furries or any other sexual preference. Just take the pressure off...

As mentioned up-thread, there really could be some interesting lines drawn between today and the sexual revolution in the 70s. Gays should not have to hide in the church, pedophiles should be encouraged to seek help before they hurt anyone, and nobody should care who is screwing who unless they're the ones getting screwed. Leave your sexuality in the privacy of your own home and allow those around you the same respect.

It is never going to happen because you have a bunch of people who insist on trying to be accepted as normal while being quite vocal and anything but normal. Normal, for this case, being defined as representing the majority.

Unfortunately it requires more than a simple passage of of a law or two. It requires that people respect each other and have a sense of decency. It requires changing attitudes and getting people to accept reality even if they don't like it. It's okay to be abnormal, it is part of what makes us human, but it is not okay to be abnormal and still insist that you're normal. Keep your sexual antics private, respect other people's rights to do the same, take the pressure off.

Additionally, marginally off topic but may show my thoughts on the subject more clearly, make them all civil unions with grandfathered unions for all marriages prior to today. The word marriage already has a prevailing definition. Stop being obtuse and childish. Ceremonies become optional, civil unions can be immediate, and the ceremonies are only there for those who want them and can be performed by anyone they choose.

The world is never going to get their head out of their asses though and my country sure as hell isn't ever going to... I like my spouse to be fully developed and capable of having a conversation that makes sense but I personally have no vested interest in what two people do in their own home and even less interest if both have at least reached puberty. I don't even care about disparate ages. I say those matters should be up to the people directly involved and I needn't even be aware of their sexual activity or preferences. I think if more people looked at it in a manner similar to how I do we'd have far fewer problems. I wish I could explain it better but I've had just a couple hours sleep and am already hitting the pipe.