As the Roman Catholic Church remains outwardly hostile towards LGBT individuals and continues to let go of its 12th century understanding of human sexuality (and the writings of church fathers who seemingly had some mental health issues), a new report out of Germany reminds us that the Church's unnatural and bizarre approach to human sexuality inflicts a cost on many, especially children and youths. Sadly, the Church's celibacy requirement for its all male priesthood makes that priesthood a safe haven for the psycho-sexually dysfunctional and abnormal particularly when the near obsession with all things sexual is combined into the mix. Sex abuse cases continue to unfold in America, all hell is breaking lose in Australia where the number three man at the Vatican has been charged with sex crimes, including rape, and similar stories are unfolding in Guam, India and various parts of Africa. The problem is systemic yet no high cleric who was involved in aiding and abetting or covering up for such sex crimes has been punished. Pope Francis' commission to address this has done nothing. As an institution, the Church is morally bankrupt. Here are highlights from the BBC on the latest bombshell:
At least 547 young members of the Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir in Germany were subjected to physical and in some instances sexual abuse over a period of 60 years, a new report says.
The report accuses 49 members of the Catholic Church of carrying out the abuse between 1945 and the early 1990s.
The alleged perpetrators are unlikely to face criminal charges because of the amount of time that has elapsed.
Victims said the experience was like "a prison, hell and a concentration camp".
The alleged physical abuse relates to children attending both the Regensburger Domspatzen's pre-school and high school, according to the lawyer tasked with investigating the abuse, Ulrich Weber.
Among those singled out for criticism in the report was former choirmaster Georg Ratzinger, elder brother of retired Pope Benedict XVI.
Mr Weber said that while Mr Ratzinger, now 93, had no knowledge of sexual abuse, "one can accuse him of looking the other way and failing to intervene".
Presenting his findings on Tuesday, Mr Weber said the investigation had found 500 cases of physical abuse and 67 instances of sexual abuse over six decades.
However, he said he was unable to contact or speak directly to a number of former students and said he estimated the true number of victims to be as high as 700.
Of the 49 church members who carried out the abuse under what was described as a "culture of silence", nine were found to have been involved in sexual abuse, Mr Weber added.
He said the alleged perpetrators had been identified but were not expected to face criminal charges because the alleged crimes took place too long ago to be legally valid.
He said the victims described their experiences at the boarding schools in southern Germany as "the worst time of their lives, characterised by fear, violence and hopelessness".
The 1,000-year-old choir was initially rocked by allegations of widespread sexual abuse in 2010. A 2016 report into the allegations found that 231 children had been abused.
Mr Weber also criticised Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who is now a cardinal, for the weaknesses of the initial review of the scandal when it first came to light in 2010. The cardinal has rejected his findings.
The UN has accused the Vatican of "systematically" adopting policies allowing priests to sexually abuse thousands of children.
I ask again: how can a morally decent person remain a member in this church and, worse yet, continue to support it financially?
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