Corruption in the Church

Today I am going to discuss a topic that everyone has heard of but a lot of people try to sweep it under the rug. I'm gonna voice my opinion on the on going issue of priest, pastor, clergy men or people of the cloth that have been wrapped up and convicted of sex crimes against their members.
More now than any other time we have found ourselves reading the news paper and finding articles such as, "A pastor was arrested on charges he downloaded child pornography using his church's Internet connection, authorities said." or "Police have arrested the pastor of a defunct church in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, his wife and six former congregants in a sexual abuse case involving as many as 24 children"
"For the second time in one week and a third time overall an Austin pastor was accused of indecency with a child." or "The pastor of an Anaheim church has been arrested on suspicion of molesting three boys and a girl — all congregants whom he met during services"
What in the world is going on where the men that we receive our religious guidance from are at the same time commiting some of the most hanus sins behind close doors. “I can’t believe he’s a sex offender.” As a people we are trained to think a person convicted of a sex crime should look a certain way: a crazy glint in the eye, a bad haircut, thick glasses. Sex offenders rarely fit this description.
Movies and the media have filled people’s heads with images of demented men snatching children. These stereotypes, matched with misinformation, make abuse difficult to understand. How could a priest or any upstanding member of the community commit a sex crime?
I chose this topic to blog about b/c recently a pastor in D.C. was arrested for raping, sadomising and kidnapping a girl that came to him so she could confide in him. She thought he was someone she could talk too. She thought that a chosen man of God would not do that too her. What do you think her view of preachers and priest are now? Do you think her view of the church will change? Currently what are your views of the church.
And what happens to the priest after these convictions, what punishement do they receive? What do church authorities do when a priest or pastor is accused of molesting children? They send him to a prestigious psychiatric hospital -- Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the Institute of Living in Hartford, the Menninger Foundation in Topeka -- for "treatment." In practice, the psychiatric hospital is a safe house for the sexually misbehaving priest, a place where he can be hidden until he is quietly reassigned to continue his abuse elsewhere. Do you think this is proper punishment...me I don't...Punish with charity that priest, remove him immediately from his ministry, do the very best to rehabilitate him and take good care of the victims.
Honestly, I believe the Church is not legally responsible for the bad actions of a priest, as the Police Department is not legally responsible for the the bad actions of a police officer... the police officer or the priest who does something wrong should be the one responsible in person to the society and to the Courts, and to the Church or the Police Department.
There are sexual abuses in other religious groups, but no one has suit against Muslim or a Jewish leader, among other things, because Islam or Judaism will not pay millions to cover up the wrongdoing of their clergy or leaders... the individuals are the ones responsible for their actions... and the individuals can pay very little, not millions, often not worth of a lawyer's work... the money payments by the Christian/Catholic Church to protect the priest and cover up the scandal of a lawsuit is precisely one of the main reasons of so many lawsuits to Pastors or Priests...
Currently my thoughts are rambled and i can't think of anything positive to say b/c the thought of what people have to go through or their thoughts of christianity after they go through something like that is skewed. In your life the people whom you go to in trust and confide in, are your God, your parents and your pastor. When sex crimes happen and the pastor or the priest is convicted, sympathy and prayer are lifted up towards the priest. But what about the victim, the little girl or boy who where raped, the woman who was taken advantage of by her confidant. They are the real victims, but usually they are forgotten about and often times feel ostracized. Why is that?
sorry but just rambling and frustrated w/ the whole ordeal....