After Bashing the Vatican, Will Gays Deny Abuse in Their Community?

Once upon a time, stigma kept bad gay men in the closet.  When they misbehaved, the gay community could claim that the misbehavior was the result of their closetedness, or else they could say, "See, he says he isn't gay, so he isn't!  We don't want him!"

This helped gay lobbyists swap stereotypes.  The old stereotype was that gays were molesters.  The new stereotype was that gays could never be molesters, only victims.

In those days, gay activists could pillory the Vatican over child molestation, because the gay community was shielded from scrutiny over its own sex abuse problems.

In 2006, Mark Foley was caught sending naughty messages to teenage boys.  He was Republican, so he could be dismissed as a self-hater somehow.  He also deflected blame by saying he was himself molested by a priest (what a cliché!).  (more...)

After Bashing the Vatican, Will Gays Deny Abuse in Their Community?