I will note my biases at the outset: I was sexually abused as a child by family members and folks outside the family circle. The predators in my life included both genders. My brother, also sexually abused as a child, grew up to become a predator, and sexually abused his children. He was, as it happens, an avid churchgoer prior to his suicide at the age of 49. My brother and I grew up in a "fine" family, sons of prominent professionals who were both professionally and financially successful.

The estimate provided by one pastor is probably too conservative; one study suggests that one out of every theree women and one out of every four men have sustained sexual abuse of some sort as a child or adolescent.Of course, the nature and traumatic reprocussions of that abuse vary radically.

I am convinced that the statistical database vastly underestimates the percentage of sexual abuse perpetrated by females, including mothers, older sisters, scoolteachers and - yes - religous educators. In a retreat for sexual abuse survivors that occurred about five years ago, fully 60% of those attending had sustained some sexual abuse by a woman. In an all-male retreat for male survivors of sexual abuse, 55% of those attending reported some abuse by a female in their youth as part of their abuse history. In my 16 years of attending support groups, I have heard virtually every variation of abuse circumstance possible - and I note that, in that context, female perpetration is common, and is being increasingly discussed.

The literature on the recidivism rate of perpetrators is hardly complete, given the complexities and darkness of this material. There is no doubt that serial pedophiles, men (and women) who abuse innumberable children (the priests in the Catholic Church do tend to come to mind, I confess....) have a high recidivism rate, and it is unlikely that they will ever be "cured"; they can be contained and their actions, with their compliance, restricted. This requires a level of self-awareness that few possess. There are perpetrators who have a limited array of victims, and for them, there is likely more hope, if they can move into a true understanding of the nature of their actions. For them, there may be some hope, with vast therapeutic support.

I would concur with the notion that the concern amongst congregations may be mis-focused on the known perpetrators... they are easy to identify, and as such, their activities can be restricted. It is the unidentified perpetrators that remain the challenge in congregations, schools and in the larger community. And again, in my years of attending support groups, I have heard about priests, nuns, ministors, lay leaders, Sunday School educators (of both genders), cantors, rabbis, boy scout leaders, girl scout leaders.

I would suggest that, rather than engage in venal mass hysteria concerning identifiable predators within a religious community, that each religious community undertake a true educative process about childhood sexual abuse and its origins and effects. That would create a community that can, by default, be self-protective, responding appropriately - not only to the identified predators in their midst - but establish protective boundaries against those not yet "labeled" and - provide support and nurturing on a rapid-response basis for childhren who do sustain sexual abuse. (I note that the long-term impact of sexual abuse can be mitigated if the nature of the trauma is confronted and dealt with at the time). Such an educative process has an ability to "spill out" into the larger community, creating a community that is self-aware. In my mind, that is the only true long-term solution. Driving known predators from the doors of the church really deals only with the easily identified issues and problems......and deals only with the tip of the iceberg.