Hard data is a pain, isn't it?
Much more fun to use hand-waving generalizations like this; "If there were 800 reports then there were probably 5,000 events.", without a shred of evidence.
Minor point: The graph is not meant to defend (your word) the abuse. It simply shows two things;
1) There was a period when this problem was at a peak and that period has now passed.
2) Something has been and is being "done" about the abuse issue and the number of clergy involved in the USA is a small fraction of the total.
Yes, just a small attempt to bring some sanity to the ever more hyperbolic ranting which appears to be infectious.
Yes, it is. Thanks for posting that graph; I was going to do so myself.
The scandal has provided various groups with various agendas a hook to hang their hats on. The (political) Left wants the Church discredited so as to ram through legal support for various immoralities the Church opposes. The (political) Right wouldn't mind having the Church out of the way too much, either, because she reminds them that their favorite wars are subject to the principles of jus ad bellum and jus in bello, that torture is intrinsically evil, and that they really ought to something besides pay lip-service to the pro-life issues. Liberal dissenters within the Church see it as an opportunity to reshape our theology and disciplines until they're no longer recognizably Christian, rather like the Anglicans have done. Reactionary dissenters would like to pretend that all was rainbows and unicorns before the irredeemably evil Second Vatican Council initiated an "auto-demolition"; the facts don't support that thesis either.
Finally, we come to the prejudices of our separated brethren, who would like to induce a sense of demoralization among us, so that we will come to find the reallio-trulio Jesus in the Third Fifty-Ninth Street Baptist Methodist Episcopal Foursquare Full-Gospel Church of God in Christ and Part-Time Bar and Grill. Pointing out that their own similar problems makes their argument problematic is unlikely to be well-received, but this, too, is a bit of hard data they have so far refused to reckon with.
Why continue to be Catholic then? Because the Catholic Church is the historical Church founded by Jesus Christ. Because it created Western Civilization and Christendom, before the latter was smashed by Protestants, giving aid and comfort to the Muslim invaders. Because it understands human nature in the light of Christ's teachings better than anybody, and has worked out practical methods of applying them to community life at all levels of political organization. Because the efficacy of the sacraments are not dependent upon the personal sanctity of the priest who administers them. Because the experience of most of us under most conditions is that of priests who keep their vows and do not engage in corrupt behavior. And, finally, because Jesus Himself told us that there would be tares among the wheat, and that we were not to try to eliminate the former as we might end up damaging the latter in the process.
So, sorry, dear separated brethren and sisters in Christ. Your campaign of demoralization is doomed to failure.
The hyperbolic ranting - it certainly is - seeks the deepest pockets.
Heard on the radio yesterday that ‘Critics’ were not impressed with the Vatican encouraging victims to call the police. Of course not, that’s not where the money is and criminal courts will actually want proof.
It’s deep pockets and the church’s anti abortion position that is fanning this hysteria.