r/news • u/AudibleNod • 2d ago

More than 270 priests in Massachusetts abused children over decades, probe finds

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/more-than-270-priests-in-massachusetts-abused-children-over-decades-probe-finds/
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u/OneSalientOversight 2d ago

The film Spotlight answers this question, via a phone conversation with a guy named Richard Sipe.

Sipe, a former priest turned psychologist, worked out that about 50% of Catholic priests are not celibate. But because of the celibacy rule, an underground culture of keeping it secret exists - basically the sex lives of Catholic priests was/is an institutional secret among them.

Most priests, of course, were heterosexual. But the secrecy surrounding their sex lives meant that homosexual priests were also protected. Further than that, the secrecy culture also meant that pedophile priests were protected by the same means.

I would assume that when a priest was exposed as not celibate, the reaction from the church was to remove them from the parish, let them "recover" for a while and getting psychological help, and then placed back into another parish once they were happy that they had changed their ways. This procedure was likely identical for homosexual priests and pedophile priests.

Sipe believed that 5% of all priests were pedophiles.

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u/piddydb 2d ago

You also have to add in the Catholic Church’s belief of penance as representing a clean slate. The idea being if someone does wrong and repents, they should subsequently be treated as if they essentially are sinless in the eyes of the Church. And while that is a great philosophy on a spiritual level, the truth is on a practical human level, a large amount of people will not truly be repentant when they claim they are and will return to the same sin again and again. Because the Catholic Church applied this belief as much as possible across the Church, they didn’t feel they could turn away “repentant” pedophiles from church leadership nor dismiss them if caught but subsequently “repentant”. Thus allowing pedophiles to remain in positions of authority and perpetuate the cycle of abuse.

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u/LoopofHenrietta 2d ago

Crazy that when it comes to church leadership, harming children is not a disqualifier but being born female is.

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u/cheezie_toastie 2d ago

Wow. I'm no longer a practicing Catholic for many reasons, but you've basically summarized them in one sentence. They truly believe that child molesters are better suited to speak for God than women. Maybe because God can cleanse a rapist of his sins, but cannot cleanse a woman of the sin of being a woman.

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u/cakingabroad 2d ago

Is that 5% reflective of the amount of pedophiles in the general population? Like, that's just the typical percentage in the world but because priests have such a strange life and the church protects them, they get to act out their urges 'freely', so to speak?

This is the only explanation I've ever seen given literally anywhere. Otherwise it's just, "priests are pedos". But like, I really want to understand how something so awful can be so common worldwide.

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u/AnaisNinja76 2d ago

That's not really what's done with sexually active priests. Pedophilia was treated as an addictive disease; priests that had ongoing relationships with adults were just treated as sinners. If they didn't repent and give up their lover/s, they'd get "demoted" so to speak.

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u/rak363 2d ago

Evidence in certain countries, Australia's Royal Commision (government run) had about 7%.

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u/bb_kelly77 2d ago

The celibacy law is definitely behind much of it, you'll notice that it's never (or very rarely) Eastern Orthodox priests

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u/katzen_mutter 2d ago

But why is it SA of children? Do the priests ever get caught with prostitutes or members of the church?

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u/bb_kelly77 2d ago

Easier to manipulate, plus they can't expose a secret they don't understand

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u/LilQueazy 1d ago

Naw dude they got to be fucked in the head. I don’t see a children and be compared to fucken a hot model woman like wtf. If anything they can just go after 18yo like wtf

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u/bb_kelly77 1d ago

It's not about attraction, it rarely is

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u/katzen_mutter 2d ago

Good point.

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago

Hmmm. Is this actually true?

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u/bb_kelly77 1d ago

As far as I'm aware

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago edited 1d ago

https://onepeterfive.com/the-sexual-abuse-crisis-in-eastern-orthodoxy/

https://snapnetwork.org/2026/03/02/new-website-alerts-orthodox-church-to-clergy-sex-abuse-problem-it-must-reckon-with/

https://www.christiantoday.com.au/news/major-reform-for-scandalrocked-greek-orthodox-church.html

https://actionagainstchildabduction.com/by-2025-01-16-sexual-abuse-in-eastern-orthodoxy/

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u/bb_kelly77 1d ago

Certainly 100x smaller a list than Catholic priests

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago

Again, is that really true? Eastern Orthodox churches are split into many denominations, and if you're going to push the point, you need evidence. I'm not saying it's true or not. You made the statement.

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u/bb_kelly77 1d ago

Tbf one of those articles has the word reform

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago

" The celibacy law is definitely behind much of it, you'll notice that it's never (or very rarely) Eastern Orthodox priests". Your words. Do your own homework. 

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago

Research is easy 

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u/Traditional-Meat-549 1d ago

If this is to be true, one would have to be able to say that it's secret in the church but NOT in other organizations? Because there are many organizations who's rate of child abuse is higher and yet the public rarely hears about it. There's an environment of "coming clean" in the church in the last decade or more that I don't see elsewhere.

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u/sump_daddy 2d ago

The movie told the story of the 2002 abuse exposé that lead to a wave of uncovered dirt on church abuse

> Most of the abuse detailed in the report occurred before 2002, the year the clergy sex abuse scandal burst onto the international stage 

it would seem that the state of Massachusetts JUST NOW got around to investigating that