Catholicism in Crisis (no spam, please)

[fable]

I've been stating elsewhere (and occasionally, here) that what began in Boston was going to spread across the US, then become a worldwide campaign, and ultimately invade other religions with their own hierarchies--though not with as much vehemence as the RCC, since of all major religions it alone enforces celibacy on its priesthood.

Now I've just heard on the BBC that a Singapore newspaper broke a story about three local priests being accused of pedophilia. People were outraged that the local RCC had said nothing about this, and all three priests have since been removed from their positions.

[HighLordDave]

The problem for the Catholic Church, from a public relations point of view, is that not only are its priests supposed to be celibate, but the types of abuse that have been occurring are homosexual in nature, which carries it's own stigmas. When abuse (or an inappropriate relationship) occurs in Protestant churches, it is often between a male pastor and a female parishioner. I've already heard some arch-conservatives blaming homosexuals for this latest crisis in the church, which is absurd (neither homosexuality nor celibacy causes someone to become a pedophile)

I think it only logical that this scandal break in the United States and the west and spread to other parts of the world and other denominations. After all we live in a litigious society rife with ambulance chasers and media hounds, we have more lawyers per capita than any nation needs, and we have the disposible income to pay those lawyers. Poorer countries whose citizens do not have the capability to sue anyone who has slighted them in the least, put up with abuse because they have no recourse. In the United States, not only can we sue for punitive damages and restitution, but we can get a book and movie deal out of it.