Religious criminals belong in jail.

• Author: Easterbrook, Gregg
• Position: TILTING at windmills - Brief article

Recently Pope Francis told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that 8,000 priests--about 2 percent of the Roman clergy--are pedophiles. The first step in recovery is to admit the problem, so this is progress. The number ought to shock. There are bad apples in every organization, but could it really be that 2 percent of elementary schoolteachers or camp counselors grope or rape kids? In the United States, about half a percent of men are registered sex offenders. This suggests clergy are four times more likely to be sex offenders than adult men in general.

The Vatican has said the Catholic Church has paid $2.5 billion in civil settlements involving the sexual abuse of children. But almost none of the priests' names have been reported to law enforcement--meaning that, unlike other kinds of rapists, godly rapists don't face prison time. Why should there be no prosecution of crimes by clergy? If a priest were raped, the church would...