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"I believe that there needs to be an open recognition that we have a very grave problem of a homosexual culture in the Church," Burke said in an interview Thursday, "especially among the clergy and the hierarchy, that needs to be addressed honestly and efficaciously."
The former head of the church's equivalent of the Supreme Court said it was already "clear after the studies following the 2002 sexual abuse crisis that most of the acts of abuse were in fact homosexual acts committed with adolescent young men."
"There was a studied attempt to either overlook or to deny this," he said, referring to the mainstream media cover-up of the homosexual nature of the abuse as well as such denial within the church itself.
Comment: Just because the large majority of victims were postpubescent, it doesn't mean they were adults. While these clergymen might not have been mainly going after young children, they are obviously sexual predators going after teenagers. Saying this is just an issue of homosexuality is sweeping the issue under the rug by trying to draw attention to something more socially acceptable while blurring the lines between sexual predation and homosexuality. These aren't men having sex with other men. These priests are sexually abusing children. Teenagers are still children. The loss of trust in the church is perfectly well deserved. Cardinal Burke should be ashamed of his lack of integrity in not taking the challenge full on.