Have, for awhile, figured that parents that would send their children to be taught that they are, "by birth" sinful, and bad, and corrupt by nature...and that women were the cause of punishment for their sins of all mankind...and that only by atonement and confession of those sins are they saved from hell everlasting.....what monsters...what truely evil monsters.....then I remember, they were brought up by the same kind of brain washed monsters.....such is the evil damage done by religion

I so vividly recall being only 5 or 6 years old and being in tears in church listening to the sermon about my sins and believing that I was going to Hell. That's child abuse.

My patch is reason ie: Science

If the church protects the criminals then they share responsibility and should be held legally liable. A thousand multi-million dollar settlements bankrupting the diocese should correct the problem. When the churches are sold to pay the victims maybe the church will get the message.

Its too bad more people don't see Religion has Poison

Crime 1: Establishing the system of celibacy
Many centuries after the Catholic Church was established, it was determined that priests should not marry. The church, after all, was losing out on enormous wealth. If gifts (including real estate) could be given by members of a congregation to a priest, they could also be passed on to his heirs, and the opportunity lost on the church! Celibacy is not a pious position, and never has been.

Crime 2: Creating the conditions that allowed wolves into the fold
In addition to celibacy (thereby limiting a large number of prospective clerics), the Catholic Church created a unique system for allowing predators maximal exposure to potential prey. Under a system of assumed trust, potential victims—the young and defenseless—endured hours of unmonitored exposure each week. What better opportunity could one devise, after all, for a sexually frustrated predator?

Crime 3: Covering it all up
Perhaps the greatest crime of all is the cover up. In an organization as hierarchical and patriarchal as the Catholic Church, there is no possible way that the leadership, from bishops to cardinals to popes, could remain ignorant of the crimes of sexual abuse of children. But rather than creating systems of oversight to protect future victims, the Church chose to hide these crimes by relocating priests (to fresh hunting grounds), failing to report these crimes to law enforcement or child protective services, making settlement deals with victims and their families and generally operating in a state of willful denial about the entire problem.

One cannot find the words to express the anger and frustration with this organization, and there are no punishments harsh enough to fit this series of crimes.

Sad that all but 2 cases are voting the statute of limitations now. The church hid this for so long.

I cannot fathom the horror those children have gone through. Nor can I fathom the kind of monsters that would cover it up for all these years.

They should all go to prison for a very long time.

If you don't already know John Fugelsang on Sirius radio and live on Facebook his comments were directed to the Pope today. His parents are a former nun and priest. Thoughtful broadcast.

Like I've been saying, parents who send their children to Catholic schools and churches after decades of reported routine pedophilia and cover-ups, should be indicted along with the priests for child endangerment.

This something that saddens and angers me big time. I hope that everyone pays even the ones that turn their heads while it was happening. You don't destroy a child's life...that's unforgivable!!

The biggest problem after it happened was that they have hid it all these years and want to continue denying it. Things like this are what makes religion poison.

Disgusting. This has been going on much too long with no real consequences for the offenders. It's criminal.

This is traceable back to the church enforcing celibacy among its officiates so that they couldn't marry & pass on their estates to family & descendants. Corruption: The gift that keeps on taking, and taking ever more to perpetuate itself. Quite literally an atrocity.

The sexual abuse of children by priests is the primary reason I turn my back on religion and the catholic church years ago.

Yeah, this is absolutely sickening. Hitchens said it best, "Religion Poisons Everything." My fear here now is that the power and political clout of the church will somehow shield these disgustingly sick criminals from prosecution.