Background Probability

The Agnostic Popular Front has moved to its new home at Skeptic Ink, and will henceforth be known as Background Probability. Despite the relocation and rebranding, we will continue to spew the same low-fidelity high-quality bullshit that you've come to expect.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Christianity, Celibacy, Pederasty

The Chicagoist:


The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced today that it will pay $12.7 million to settle a suit against 11 priests brought by 16 victims of sexual abuse. Over the last 30 years, the Archdiocese of Chicago has settled 250 such suits.
[
Sun Times, Tribune]


Forget about the money for a moment, if you can, and just work the math for victimhood: 250 suits / 30 years is over 8 lawsuits settled out of court per year, on average. Since such suits may bring together multiple victims and perps (as this one did) the numbers of persons abused and molested in Chicago alone may be well in excess of eight persons per year. Probably most of these were young boys, if history is any guide to broad social trends.

Now, what is it about a profession which requires and enforces celibacy that attracts pedophiles? Wait…now that I think about it, who else is most likely to consider celibacy an employment benefit rather than a cost? Who else but would-be pederasts find their own sexual impulses so repugnant as to crave enforced celibacy? Necrophiliacs, maybe, but their victims almost never sue.

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