The assertion that Catholic priests are more likely to be abusers because the practice of celibacy attracts pedophiles in the first place is based on a false premise. It ignores the reality that abusers are often sexually active with adults, including spouses, even while they target, groom, and abuse minors, and it clouds the conversation about how to protect young people. The urgent goal of fulfilling that commitment and building institutions that are ever safer for children is not served by the lazy conflation of clerical celibacy with sexual predation.

“Come on, why are there these accusations?” the priest says. “I am wondering what’s the motive?” He is referring to the allegations from six who say he sexually abused them as children while working as a missionary. He says it never happened. None of the charges against him have been tested or proven. “The press is terrible,” he says, tapping his finger on the computer desk. “They can launch anything. “…Things get released into the press and the press only retains the information that, ‘Oh, he’s accused.’”

The Vatican official said, “Pope Francis has called for zero tolerance, meaning no accusation goes uninvestigated and no abusive priest remains in ministry. If the civil structures are inadequate, then let the Church structures make sure that justice is done. But more than justice, the Church can be a powerful instrument of prevention so that abuse is not allowed to thrive in the first place. And it can be there boldly and honestly, seeking forgiveness and healing for those harmed by its clergy."

The number of clerics accused of sexual abuse of a minor during the audit period 2021 totaled 1,914. Accused priests of the audit period totaled 1,707. Of this total, 1,396 were dioc- esan priests, 252 belonged to a religious order, and 59 were incardinated elsewhere. There were 23 dea- cons accused during the audit period. Of this total, 19 were diocesan deacons, and 4 were religious order deacons. Allegations brought against “unknown” clerics totaled 184.

The staggering figure of 330,000 cases of abuse of minors, announced alongside the publication of the 2,500-page document, left the entire local Catholic flock in a state of shock and allowed little room for critical and dispassionate analysis at the time. “I was stunned by the multitude of approximations and methodological errors present in this poll, and I drew the general conclusion that it lacked credibility,” World-renowned statistician Paul Deheuvels says.

“Please remember this well: Zero tolerance on abuse against children or disabled persons; zero tolerance,” he said. The pope also called on priests and brothers to “not be ashamed to denounce” one of their confreres if an abuse is known because they must “protect the others.” “Please, I ask of you this: zero tolerance. You cannot solve this with a transfer (and say), ‘Ah, I’ll move him from this continent to the other continent.’ No!” the pope said.