thread I believe that a large number of perverts join the Rat Catchers
in order to try and force celibacy upon themselves and to avoid the sexual deprivation which they lust for (I really do feel rather sorry for paedophiles - I'd hate to fancy kids) and I think that them doing so is laudable and that the church helps a lot of perverts.

I deplore the way in which the church has, in the past, covered up the acts of perverts, but that is not for now.

Successful clergymen are generally true believers and genuinely pious men seldom commit perverted acts. I believe that there are more perverts in the RC church than in most sectors of society, but the numbers are still very, very low.

Believing unwaveringly in anything always seems a bit odd to me, but that's not the argument here.
permalink The vatican itself
recently estimated the number of "problem" pirsts to be around 5% ish. That's THOUSANDS of priests.

The Vatican has a track record of protecting, not punishing, priests enganged in paedophilia. Under the previous pope, the current pope was actively involved, as the enforcer of discipline, in this. He coordinated attempts to avoid having them dealt with by secular authorities.
permalink This is not about their beliefs at this point
this is about abuse, of pwer and of a sexual nature, and the ongoing attempts to cover it up coupled to trying to justify it with idiocy such as the "The vatican is posssed by the devil" spiel.
permalink seems so
Indeed. Problem priests are more likely to be shipped off to real life versions of Craggy Island- there is a germ of truth in the set up to Father Ted (different "problems in those cases though, obviously, as embezzlement, idiocy and alcoholism are rather funnier than paedophilia)
permalink So, essentially,
you agree with me on every point?

Please explain why you think that an article saying that the Vatican is full of perverts is 'fucking spot on' when we agree that it is not?
permalink You appear to be aggressively agreeing with me on almost all my points,
save that you seem to suggest that 5% of priests being 'problem priests' means that the Vatican is full of paedos.

Problem priests are not very likely to get into the Vatican.