Pedophile Priests

I have been thinking about pedophile priests, again.

I guess I think about that a lot. I'm not sure I have a problem with them, except for a certain (perhaps necessary) dishonesty.

I guess what I wonder is why anyone thinks that this is anything new. I remember reading a book from the 1600s which indicated that the early popes (maybe 12 centuries previous) were pedophiles, and known for that.

So I guess I am also wondering why no one is asking which "2%" of the priests are pedophiles. Or maybe people are, and the answers just get shushed.

We have all sorts of social mechanisms opposing pedophilia, and (speaking as someone who "lost" their "virginity" when they were a toddler), I find those social mechanism far more distressing than the actual physical act. And I am not saying that the physical act was pleasant - just that I have experienced far worse things.

Being spanked (something else I experienced a lot) was worse, in my experience.

Getting my hand caught in a car door? Worse.

Getting my knee bit by a bad-tempered dog? Worse.

Cutting my hand on glass? Worse.

I could go on...

And I guess a lot of people with christian (or non-christian) backgrounds must have had similar experiences, to myself.

But one thing I really have been thinking about, is the religious perspectives of people on both sides of the fence on this issue. And I guess I can see arguments (biblical and otherwise) in favor of both points of view.

(Yes, I am saying both that there are strong biblical arguments both in favor of pedophilia, and opposed to it. Also that I expect that there are far worse priests than the pedophiles - I expect that they are a minor problem in the larger scheme of things - pun intended.)

A very real problem, through all of this, is the inherent dishonesty people bring to bear on all subjects sexual.

And that might be unavoidable.

People are shy.

And, worse, our feelings fluctuate, quite strongly, when discussing matters related to sexuality. And there are "good" biological reasons for this.

For myself, I sometimes wish that I could have been more of a pedophile. And then I think that that was a really stupid thing to wish.

It's a dirty job. And I guess somebody's got to do it. But you all will have to just suffer because I'm not up to that particular job.

(Yeah, seriously: I feel sort of obligated to have pedophiliac feelings, but they evaporate really fast. Or that's how I accommodate my conflicting beliefs on this subject.)

Wait, you might be asking, why would anyone *want* to be pedophiliac?

Religious belief, my friend, mixed with practical observations.

But I can't do it myself. I just can't. Or, put differently: I do not really want to. But someone needs to, and society needs to somehow come to terms with this issue.

Then again, we have far worse problems which also need to be dealt with.

But I cannot help but think that this will be a part of it.