Anecdotal experience means absolutely nothing.
That only 2% of the American clergy thinks the sexual abuse situation was a "big deal" shows just how out of touch they really are.
Ask the bishops if it was a big deal. Or their accountants.
True.
I would say it is my experience as well; but I would also say that in so-called "rad-trad" or at least traditionalist parishes (like that of Fr. Weinberger in Dallas), the priest usually *is* in touch with the laity, but it's kind of a self-selecting sample, since there is a certain homogeneity and unity of outlook in the parish composition.
And there is nothing at all wrong with that. It just may not be typical.
Hipness does not automatically conflate with "in-touch" but I will also observe that the young (conservative) priests I know are surprisingly up to speed on pop culture. I think of Fr. Bryce Sibley (who has his own blog) and not only roasted me on a very difficult 80's pop music quiz; he got a perfect score. A couple points behind him was Fr. LaHood.
That only 2% of the American clergy thinks the sexual abuse situation was a "big deal" shows just how out of touch they really are.
The sample size seems large enough (1800+ priests of 30,000+) but I am assuming that the LA Times had to do the same thing we at the Kansas City Star did when we did our AIDS in the priesthood series - mail out a voluntary survey, and respondents were therefore self-selecting.
In other words, those who responded almost certainly were not representative. And in my experience, the more conservative types were usually more distrustful of the media and less likely to respond.
I am especially curious how that question was worded. Even for a self-selecting non-representative survey, 2% seems awfully low.
This is true. Even if the "young fogeys" are an improvement over the horrendous 70's generation, they still fail to grasp the enormity of the situation facing the Church today. It will take many years before the full extent of the damage from this scandal will be fully appreciated. And that is just one part of the overall damage suffered by the Church since 1962.