Catholic cardinal says child molesting an illness, not a crime

[bodecea]

There is a movement to remove the stigmatism from pedophilia in the hopes that more pedophiles will come forward and seek help before they cross the line and hurt someone.

Pedophilia is a mental illness, and needs to be treated like such. Personally I wish we could lock them in a mental institute until they are deemed no longer a danger to society.

Which is probably never.

My solution, which I've stated several times....is to drop them all on an isolated island together...with enough food and supplies for half of them. At least they'd have their own clergy.

 

[Nosmo King]

There is a movement to remove the stigmatism from pedophilia in the hopes that more pedophiles will come forward and seek help before they cross the line and hurt someone.

Pedophilia is a mental illness, and needs to be treated like such. Personally I wish we could lock them in a mental institute until they are deemed no longer a danger to society.

Which is probably never.

My solution, which I've stated several times....is to drop them all on an isolated island together...with enough food and supplies for half of them. At least they'd have their own clergy.

The problem with that solution is the Roman Catholic church will quietly reassign some of them to Hawaii while others will be sent to Penn State as defensive co-ordinators.

 

[PratchettFan]

A pedophile cannot be prosecuted for his belief.

He can be prosecuted for acting on it: downloading child porn is acting on it.

I think people are just splitting hairs here. When people refer to a 'pedophile,' they are generally referring to someone who has acted on it. We don't even know about pedophiles who don't act on it; even if it is downloading child porm: that's acting on it. The cardinal was most likely refering to priests who have acted on their attraction to children, and he wants them to not be punished but treated medically. No one knows who a pedophile is unless they are caught acting on it.

The pedophile knows. If he seeks treatment, his physician knows. If he acts on it, he is a criminal. While I can certainly sympathize that he is living with a mental condition, that does not change the nature of the crime.

OTOH, I have have absolutely no sympathy for anyone or any organization which, knowing someone is a pedophile, intentionally gives them access to children and not notify the children or the parents of the danger. I consider that act to be even more heinous.

 

[Borillar]

With abstinence the church grows fondlers
Think that pretty much sums up the "mental illness"

"Abstinance makes the church grow fondlers." Brilliant! Can I use that?

 

[ShootSpeeders]

There is a movement to remove the stigmatism from pedophilia in the hopes that more pedophiles will come forward and seek help before they cross the line and hurt someone.

And that is more liberal hogwash. We need stigmas to shame people into doing the right thing. If you loony liberals had your way murder would be called an illness.

 

[JakeStarkey]

ShootSpeeders want to criminalize beliefs and feelings rather than actions.

The state of mind is not a crime, but acting on it is a crime.

Hopefully, Shootdoosh will understand that.

 

[asaratis]

A pedophile cannot be prosecuted for his belief.

He can be prosecuted for acting on it:

HAHAHA. LIsten to these crazy libs. Now they want child molesting classed as a mere "thought crime" and made legal. Just like i said they did.

Good Lord you are dense! Is that a prerequisite for being a far right loon?

Pedophilia is the state of mind of being sexually attracted to children. That is not a crime. We do not prosecute based on someone's state of mind. Should they, God forbid, act upon those attractions and molest a child, they have THEN committed a crime.

No one called for molestation to be legal. But you can't prosecute someone for thinking. Acting is when the legal line has been crossed.

Purchasing child pornography promotes and enables the molestation of the children that were used to produce the porn. Whether the owner ever touches a child or not has no bearing on the fact of his guilt in the crime on the children shown in his porn collection.

 

[Nosmo King]

HAHAHA. LIsten to these crazy libs. Now they want child molesting classed as a mere "thought crime" and made legal. Just like i said they did.

Good Lord you are dense! Is that a prerequisite for being a far right loon?

Pedophilia is the state of mind of being sexually attracted to children. That is not a crime. We do not prosecute based on someone's state of mind. Should they, God forbid, act upon those attractions and molest a child, they have THEN committed a crime.

No one called for molestation to be legal. But you can't prosecute someone for thinking. Acting is when the legal line has been crossed.

Purchasing child pornography promotes and enables the molestation of the children that were used to produce the porn. Whether the owner ever touches a child or not has no bearing on the fact of his guilt in the crime on the children shown in his porn collection.

But that crime is not necessarily pedophilia. It's technically child engangerment.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Purchasing and owning and possessing child pornography is not pedophilia, although such can be criminalized.

 

[Esmeralda]

The Catholic church is facing a huge shortage of priests. Rather than considering married priests or women priests, they would prefer, at least based on the comments of the cardinal in the OP, they would prefer to have pedophiles as priests, believing, apparently, it is only a sickness and can be treated. They would set up this pretense that such men would not be doing any harm if they don't act on their attraction to children, but we know from the past that they do act upon it.

It's a pathetic attempt to gain acceptance for the Catholic church to have priests who are pedophiles.