General Chat

Thank-you everyone for your comments. It's a difficult subject. I agree that all these offenders should be punished somehow as a warning to others.

Lorraine, your comments about the nuns teaching you remind me of stories from my OH's cousin about the Brothers teaching him at his school in Ireland.

They are in all walks of life and despite most people thinking they are male there also female peadophiles

They will if they can take employments where they can gain easy access to children.

With regards to the catholic church and paedophiles, they have been covering up for priests for centuries, they know it is an ongoing problem but choose to take no action and move the priests around some even abroad where they continue to abuse children.


I am not a practising catholic but did go to a catholic school, were we were taught by nuns, a more evil bunch of woman you would be hard pressed to meet, put me off religion for life.

I do hope no one thought I was casting any doubt on the vast majority of people in the professions / vocations I mentioned.

Paedophiles are found in all walks of life of course. My mention of teaching and IT ( as well as the priests which were the subject of the thread ) was brought to mind by recent publicised cases.

I don't think celibacy has any bearing on it as such, nor do I believe that the majority of priests do anything but good.

I think I'd better leave it at that. :)

Very much an emotive subject this.

I do not agree that paedophiles suffer from a mental illness, it is just the way they are - evil and depraved.

I agree with Rose, they can come from all walks of life but may chose proffessions that can give them access to children, the Priesthood is ideal because they are generally believed to be a trusted and caring and a very good veil to hide behind.

I have recently read "Broken" by Shy Keenan - an autobiography of a a truely amazing woman, sexually abused since a very young child by her step father and his friends - nothing to do with the Priesthood so off topic in a way. It was a very hard book to read because of the suject matter, could only read so much at a time.


One of the things that was llustrated was that no one would listen to this child. Many people must have been aware of what was going on but chose to ignore it and turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

I am guessing that there is probably roughly the same proportion of paedophiles in other 'professions' as there are in the priesthood?, but it may be the case that the vocations or careers which provide easier access to children are more inclined to attract a paedophile or someone who has a leaning towards it... teaching, social care, the church, IT workers etc.

On TV at the moment is a programme about this subject.

I am not Catholic but my OH is, and I have been welcomed on many occasions into Catholic churches in Ireland where my in-laws come from.

What I don't understand is, don't paedophiles suffer from some kind of mental illness or some other problem, and, if so, why are there apparently so many priests in this situation? Surely the vast majority of priests are kind, devoted men?

I understand the possibilities about celibacy and sexual problems but do not see that celibacy might cause paedophilia, I believe the two are separate issues. I don't believe that paedophiles might be drawn to the priesthood.

Does anyone have any comments on the subject? I know it is a bit of a taboo subject, sorry.