Penn State Analogies Evince A Bias – OpEd

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Everyone and his brother is comparing the Penn State sexual abuse scandal to the Catholic Church’s own problems, and in many respects, such an analogy is unfortunately warranted. But some correctives are in order, and some analogies not being discussed need to be made.

No institution where adults regularly mix with youngsters is immune to this problem. In the case of the Catholic Church, most of the problem took place between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s; almost all of the allegations being reported today extend back decades.

Therefore, the popular Penn State-Catholic Church analogy seems a bit dated.

Why not discuss Penn State’s most salient rival, namely, the public schools? That’s where “passing the trash”—moving molesting teachers to new school districts—is still a major problem.

Planned Parenthood is notorious for covering up cases of statutory rape, yet no one is fingering them. That’s because they have the support of many in the media, most of whom are pro-abortion.

“Occupy Wall Street” gatherings are rife with sexual assault, and in cities like Baltimore, the protesters are told, by directive, that “we do not encourage the involvement of the police in our community” about such matters. A woman in New York who was almost molested said she knew of cases of rape going on in Zuccotti Park, but that “We don’t tell anyone. We handle it internally.” So why no analogies to the “OWS” campers?

It’s commonplace to blame “all male hierarchies” for the abuse. But just last week the top Episcopal bishop in the U.S., a woman, was cited for welcoming a known child molester into the clergy. Why the media blackout? Similarly, why isn’t anyone talking about the Penn State issue, and the one at the Citadel, as involving homosexuality? Male-on-male sex, involving mostly postpubescent guys, constitutes most of the abuse on both campuses. But everyone is afraid to mention the obvious. Better to blame the Vatican.

William Donohue

William Donohue is the current president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States, and has held that position since 1993.

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