Contrary to the claim by some clergy that the sexual abuse problems in the Catholic Church stem from "clericalism" -- excessive deference to priests and bishops -- German Cardinal Walter Brandmuller said the fundamental problem is homosexuality in the priesthood. He stressed that 80% of the abuse cases over the decades involved gay priests abusing post-pubescent boys, i.e., young teen boys, ages 11 to 17. This is a "statistically proven" fact, he added.
Cardinal Brandmuller, the former president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences at the Vatican, made his remarks in a Jan. 4 interview with the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA). His remarks were translated by several British and U.S. media, including Life Site News.
“80% of the abuse cases in the ecclesial environment involved male adolescents, not children," said the cardinal, adding that this is "statistically proven."
According to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice report on clergy sexual abuse in the United States between 1950 and 2002, "81% of victims were male and 19% female. Male victims tended to be older than female victims."
"The largest group of alleged victims (50.9%) was between the ages of 11 and 14, 27.3% were 15-17, 16% were 8-10 and nearly 6% were under age 7," stated the report. There were 8,449 male victims and 2,004 female victims; 2 victims identified as transgender.
Cardinal Brandmuller argued that homosexuals must not become priests "for the simple reason that it is difficult to overcome a homosexual inclination."
“In addition, a priest has to be fatherly," said the cardinal. "He who emotionally does not have the capability for normal human love and for assuming the responsibility for a family would likewise encounter difficulties as a priest.”
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, in his Aug. 22, 2018 "Testimony" about corruption in the Church and among not a few bishops and cardinals, said, "Regarding [Chicago Cardinal Blase] Cupich, one cannot fail to note his ostentatious arrogance, and the insolence with which he denies the evidence that is now obvious to all: that 80% of the abuses found were committed against young adults by homosexuals who were in a relationship of authority over their victims."
Cupich is "blinded by his pro-gay ideology," said Vigano.
The archbishop continued, "The seriousness of homosexual behavior must be denounced. The homosexual networks present in the Church must be eradicated, as Janet Smith, Professor of Moral Theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, recently wrote. 'The problem of clergy abuse,' she wrote, 'cannot be resolved simply by the resignation of some bishops, and even less so by bureaucratic directives. The deeper problem lies in homosexual networks within the clergy which must be eradicated.'"
"These homosexual networks, which are now widespread in many dioceses, seminaries, religious orders, etc., act under the concealment of secrecy and lies with the power of octopus tentacles, and strangle innocent victims and priestly vocations, and are strangling the entire Church," said Vigano. "I implore everyone, especially Bishops, to speak up in order to defeat this conspiracy of silence that is so widespread, and to report the cases of abuse they know about to the media and civil authorities.