Letters.(Letter to the Editor)

-- Almost any measure of outrage at priests who commit crimes against children has been given approbation by Our Lord. Nonetheless, it must be pointed out that the headline "The Sins of the Fathers" and the picture you chose for your Feb. 11 cover are misleading, even if the points Rod Dreher's article scores are richly deserved. According to the latest research, "The Sins of 1 in 3,000 of the Fathers" would have been more accurate. I offer no defense for priests who do unspeakable things; I'd be more likely to help tie the knot on the millstone. But, please, don't join the effort to scare people away from all priests.

Tom Hoopes

National Catholic Register

Hamden, Conn.

-- Rod Dreher replies: The "1 in 3,000" number seems to come from the head of a Catholic-affiliated institute that treats troubled priests, and it refers to "true pedophiles," meaning men who are sexually attracted to prepubescent children. The overwhelming majority of sex- abuse allegations involving priests and minors have to do with "ephebophilia," meaning an attraction to postpubescent youth. The terms may be important to psychiatrists, but not to average Catholics. Is anybody relieved to learn that pederast priests are far more likely to molest 13-year-olds than six-year-olds? In Boston alone, between 60 and 80 priests face "substantial" allegations of sex abuse -- and that's according to the archdiocese, which took pains to cover everything up. In any case, the real scandal is not only that there are priests who molest children, but that there are bishops who enable it through their indifference and deception.

-- I resent Mr. Dreher's spotlighting the weaknesses and cover-ups of a few clerics in the Catholic Church. Next time, why doesn't he write an article on the many priests who dedicate their lives to helping the poor, visiting the sick, and comforting the downtrodden?

Richard Stephans