Ok, not technically peodphilia but the sexual abuse of children then. Got it. The problem with the church is how they would move the abusive priests around and let them continue to abuse kids. You can blame the individual priests, I blame the system for allowing them to flourish. The church was more concerned with themselves than the kids. Some religion. I believe in God but the problem with religion is, anytime you trust men to be the intermediaries, it doesn’t work. You can’t blindly put your faith in people. It’s an easy way for most people be it religion, politicians, etc. Objective, free thinking is too much hard work for most people. That is why the cable news channels are so popular. They tell people what to think, people can just take it as fact and regurgitate it to their family, friends, etc. citing illegitimate sources.
Let's call it what it was: abuse by gay men, who monstrously betrayed their vows, of post-pubescent minors...most of whom were teenage males.
Regarding the "system," I totally agree with you. In fact, I'd say the scandals were more than anything else the product of a broken system overseen by corrupt and cowardly bishops.
The Catholic Church has existed for over 2,000 years and is no stranger to periods of crisis and corruption. I expect She will exist for another 2,000 years, if mankind makes it that far, but when the history is written, it's hard to imagine there will be recorded a more profound crisis or period of faith-shattering corruption than the one the institution has experienced for the past 50 years or so.
Yet, even this crisis has to be understood within the context of our times. We're living through epochal changes...the overthrow of a civilization and the moral laws that governed it...and its replacement with another. The Church on earth is not immune to this upheaval.
I also agree with you regarding "blind faith in people." We see this at the level of religion...but also politics, the culture, sports, everywhere. I learned long ago not to put my faith in people or uncritically look to them for instruction on how to think or live.
Instead, my loyalty is to principles...and as regards the Church, my faith is not in any priest, bishop, or Pope...but rather in the Man from Nazareth. At her best, the Church has preserved, defended, explained, and transmitted from generation to generation the things that Man taught.
At her worst, well, that's what we've been talking about. But the point is, her worst was the product not of those principles and that teaching but rather a Judas-like betrayal of them.