Institutions such as public schools and the Boy Scouts that do not require celibacy have had very similar problems. So have some Protestant churches that allow their ministers to marry.

The John Jay report done on clerical sex abuse in the USA didn’t find the percentage of abusers in the priesthood to be significantly different from those in other professions.

The impulse to cover up is not limited to the institution of celibacy by any means.

Unfortunately as a catholic I fear this is a ticking time bomb for many non first world churches. The church here in the US only put into place decent zero-tolerance policies in the late 90s and early 2000s and many churches in other regions have failed to take matching action.

> Institutions such as public schools and the Boy Scouts that do not require celibacy have had very similar problems.

All have one thing in common: adults with unchecked power over minors.

Its more common than that as it starts with mothers breastfeeding their kids. Other scientists argue Pedophilia and others are perfectly natural, you even see this behaviour in other animals, including castrated male dogs trying to copulate with younger dogs. For decades, the BBC hid the sexual habits of Bonobo monkeys from the wider public, they have sex with all ages of their species, something that was only known in small academic circles. Of course the accusation of pedophilia and other philia's is an excellent blackmail and extortion method most often used by security services of all people! Can you think of a better accusation to make where it can not be defended as it boils down to a historical event which is medically hard to prove and simply relies on the evidence of at least 2 people. Now why cant you make up a false accusation about a teacher who you didnt like and think about how it could be defended when you put yourself in either persons shoes.

After reading the below, at least you will learn why some men and women get so angry at mothers breastfeeding in public considering the sexual connotations.

Levin, Roy J. (May 2006), "The breast/nipple/areola complex and human sexuality". Sexual & Relationship Therapy. 21 (2):237–249.

    p240-241 wrote:
    Approximately 33 to 50% of mothers described breast feeding as an erotic experience, while some 25% expressed guilt because of the sexual excitement that they felt (von Sydow, 1999). In a few cases the arousal is strong enough to induce orgasm which causes some nursing mothers to abandon breast feeding because of the sexual stimulation (Dickinson, 1949, p. 67; Masters & Johnson, 1966, p. 162). In a questionnaire on orgasm and pregnancy published in a Dutch magazine for women, Gianotten (1988) asked ‘‘Did you experience, while breastfeeding, a sensation of sexual excitement’’, 34% (total n¼153) answered ‘‘Yes’’ and to the question ‘‘Did you experience, while breastfeeding, pleasurable contractions in the uterine region’’, 71% answered ‘‘Yes’’. Of these 153 women who had been breastfeeding who replied to the question ‘‘Did you experience, while breast feeding an orgasm (during or as the result of breastfeeding)’’, 12 (8%) answered ‘‘Yes’’. Ignorance about such normal physiological occurrences can sometimes create gross miscarriages of the law. According to Yalom (1997, p. 254), a mother in Syracuse, New York in 1992 had her two-year-old child taken away from her after admitting that she became aroused on nursing, the authorities claiming that she sexually abused the child. A judge found there was no case and after 8 months the child was returned to the custody not of her mother, but of her grandparents!

Catholic church is unique in the power to hide these things. At least in strongly religious countries with close ties between politicians and church officials.

Since this problem is seen in so many countries, that does seem to be the case.

All-male moral authority is a real problem.