Sir;... The first time I went through the first grade we had a certain local priest come in one day to give us a Catechism class... A few minutes in he spotted this kid sitting opposite me chewing gum, and I am certain the reaming that kid got for a harmless chew while meditating on the word of God couldn't have been much worse than sexual abuse.... First the kid turned beet red, and then he got up on his own, and ditched the gum in a waste basket; and that only incited the priest to greater paroxysms of hysterics... Then he made the kid pick the gum out of the basket, and he tried in vain to stick it on his nose; but by that time the kid was sweating so much his freckles were sliding... And that is about all I remember of that day in school...I did learn many years later that the priest was caught abusing some little girl; and it does surprise me, and it does not.... You know; it does not matter what the job is, but a certain type of individual seeks positions of authority over others.... There are a whole lot of little Nietzsches with very little to recommend them by way of character who seek authority because they have no personal authority.... We should all have enough.... Even the Barney Fifes of this world should have enough authority as human beings to get by without a badge and a gun.... And some do not, and instead feel inadequate... The priesthood is no different than other occupations of authority... I would look at that job as an obligation... So what??? We all have obligations... The difference is that most of my Christian obligations are ones I can pick up and set down... If my family demands more, or a friend needs something, the charity can wait.... I have had burdens I could never shed, that I was born to, but shed them I did, and so soon again felt wasted without my load.... But everyone should consent to the burden they bear, and know they can shed it if they must, and not so resent their task that they screw it up...Consider all who keep the faith....We do not think of the many priests who suffer prostate trouble, and even cancer for want of regular sex... Instead; Everyone has their story of priestly infidelity.... It is bizarre in the extreme, and nothing has brought so much insult upon the church as the drunkeness and sexual activity of priests.... Consider that in the past, traveling Rabbis used to advertize for temporary wives, so high was their regard for decency and virtue... But then, they had the value of a logical God, and the trinity and the dogma is not so much supported by reason and demanded by obediance.... I think reason is what the Catholic Church needs...The Church has become what it is by degrees, and if it were a living thing, a true body of Christ, it could unbecome what is bad... We need democracy.... We need normality... We need community priests who are married and have helpmates, and some one to help them guard their virtue.... What we have is not working, but it is supposed to help preserve the wealth of the church, and authority... But ultimately all authority is built upon respect, and just as Barney Fife could see, the badge and the gun alone are not enough.... The church needs more than symbols.... Symbols alone are only empty forms... If the priests want respect they have to be respectable....Thanks...Sweeney

"a tiny minority of unfaithful priests" - I have seen figures that indicate 4 - 6% of priests in the last 50 or so years, have molested a child at some point during their priesthood. Considering the number of victims who never came forward, and the number of priests who knew, but never stopped, the molestations, I would hardly call that a "tiny minority." And as far as I know, child molestation is a horrible, immoral, CRIMINAL act, not to be confused with the term "unfaithful!"