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Quote by: Rooster  The victims age is irrelevant. These priests used thier power and status as a way to abuse the members of their church. They hid and were protected under the cover of the church. |
I think age is relevant. A 16 or 17 year old could very easily smack the crap out of a priest who tries to fondle, or come on to him. Plus, that age isn't as impressionable, they know right from wrong, so it gets harder to make excuses.
I think abuse of power is a bad thing. I agree with you on that.
I'm not a Catholic apologist, but I did go to Catholic Schools, and I never heard anything about abuse. I think we would have heard something, somewhere. We knew who the priest's girlfriends were, so I think rumors would have floated around about abuses when they were occuring. Also, some parents may have balked, but I know a lot of parents that would have beat the crap out of a priest if he pulled something on their kid. This is why with the older kids there may have been some consent to it. It's still not right, but it's a bit murkier.
Catholic's do have those priests on pedestals, which is totally stupid. I don't know if they still do, but I hope not.