Young Irish priest fearful of being branded a pedophile

Well, I guess that illustrates to him how most Gay Men feel when they, especially by the Church, get accused of 'destroying family values' when they do nothing else but love their spouse who is of the same gender. Certainly hope Fr. McGroarty then goes forth and uses that understanding to help stop overwrought persecution based merely on two phrases from the OT. Afterall, 'everyone' should not be disparaged by a 'few.'

Look up the statistics on pedophilia in public schools and in churches of other faiths; it is much more prevalent there than in the Catholic Church, but is almost completely ignored by the media. We need to pray for the courageous men who choose to become and remain Catholic priests in these times.

Father Damien McGroarty may well want to rethink his career choice. How could he possibly work for an organization that deliberately and methodically turns a blind eye to child sexual abuse??!..and then refuses to pay compensation to all of those victims involved. I do wish someone would start a large class action lawsuit asking for damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Vatican Inc. could start by selling off their pricey artwork as compensation. The world is watching you Vatican Inc!

Father Damien should feel concerned. Until our Church takes responsibility for all of its evil involvement in the child rape coverup, all priests are going to have to feel the way Father Damien feels!

I agree with katiemac, but not her conspiracy theory however. I was in Catholic school between the ages of 4 and 18 and had many priests as teachers. Just as with lay teachers, not all the priests could teach, but they were some of the finest men I have encountered. I also served mass and was around priests on a regular basis in that capacity. I never heard so much as a rumour about any of them. While I appreciate that their have been monsters, I feel sorry for the majority who are decent well meaning people.

'WE have all suffered....', 'OUR chidren will remain unhurt and safe...' just how many children does the Bishop of Raphoe have? More claptrap attempting to align the church with suffering when the church itself is the cause of much of it.Too late, Dr Phil. Too late.

Katiemac your assertion that radical gays had an agenda to infiltrate the Church and bring it down from within is utterly reprehensible and is yet again another example of your extreme paranoia and hatred for gay people. As someone who clearly associates herself with the Catholic Church it would better serve you to follow the spirit of Jesus' teachings to love all. The next time you're in Church you might just be shaking hands with heaven forbid a homosexual (they do go to Mass too you know). Furthermore, and more importantly, your insinuation that homosexuality and pedophilia are inherently one in the same is blithely false and dangerous; they have NOTHING to do with one another (and that's not just my opinion but the consensus of all mainstream scientific discourse). In a time of increased teen suicide of young gay people struggling with the bigotries of so called Christians like you your comments are disgusting. Shame on you!

Well, it's not so bad, only 1 in 5 is likely to transgress.