I agree with the comment further above in the thread that a devout Catholic should throw ZERO stones at Islam on this particular topic, but I will make an observation concerning the business world and the military world in the Middle East many many years ago when I was there on business. Of course, at that time (and probably/possibly still today), females were not allowed to be out and about in a formal setting or among top military brass. So no female secretaries or assistants anywhere! But all the top executives and military authorities appeared to compete with each other to have absolutely the “cutest” male assistant twinks doing their busy work. Just sayin…
I don’t and here’s why. While we acknowledge that it’s a problem within in the Church , as a whole we wholeheartedly condemn it and call for those committing those crimes should be punished in the worst way. We also acknowledge that there have been cover ups and should be dealt with as written in canon law, let civil law take its course. On the other hand, Radical Islam is not only doesn’t condemn it, it advocates for it and is a lot of the forcing children to marry adults but not just adults, we’re talking 40’, 50’s 60 and older men. Parents sell their kids just to marry them off. It’s a sick sick culture
Canon Law treats the sexual abuse of minors by clergy as a grave delict (ecclesiastical crime). The main current norms are found in the revised Book VI of the 1983 Code of Canon Law (effective 8 December 2021) and related papal legislation.
Core provision: Canon 1398 §1
A cleric is to be punished with deprivation of office and other just penalties, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state (commonly called laicization or “defrocking”) where the case calls for it, if he:
1. Commits an offense against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (i.e., a sexual offense) with a minor (under 18), or with a person who habitually has an imperfect use of reason, or with a person to whom the law recognizes equal protection;
2. Grooms or induces such a person to expose himself/herself pornographically or to take part in pornographic exhibitions (real or simulated);
3. Immorally acquires, retains, exhibits, or distributes pornographic images of minors (or equivalent persons), by any means or technology. 
This framing places the offense under “Offenses Against Human Life, Dignity, and Liberty,” emphasizing harm to the victim rather than solely a violation of clerical celibacy (the earlier placement in the Code).
Key related norms and procedures
• Jurisdiction: These cases (the “more serious delicts” or delicta graviora) are reserved to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith under the norms of the motu proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela (originally 2001, revised 2010 and 2021). Local bishops conduct a preliminary investigation and refer the case. 
• Scope of the delict: It covers a wide range of external acts against the sixth commandment with a minor—sexual relations (consensual or not), physical contact for sexual gratification, exhibitionism, production or possession of child pornography, grooming, propositions, etc. Consent of the minor does not remove the delict.
• Penalties: “Just penalties” are determined according to the gravity of the case. They commonly include permanent removal from public ministry. Dismissal from the clerical state is available and frequently imposed in serious or repeated cases. Precautionary measures (e.g., temporary removal from ministry) can be imposed during investigation (Canon 1722).
• Vos Estis Lux Mundi (2019, updated 2023): Requires reporting of such delicts (and of cover-ups or interference with investigations) by clergy and religious. It also establishes procedures for investigating bishops and superiors accused of these crimes or of negligence in handling them.
• Prescription (statute of limitations): Generally 20 years from the victim’s 18th birthday for these reserved delicts, with the possibility of the Dicastery derogating from it in individual cases.
Important clarifications
• Canon Law is the Church’s internal penal system. It does not replace civil or criminal law. In the United States and most other countries, sexual abuse of minors is a civil crime, and clergy (like other citizens) are subject to secular prosecution. Many jurisdictions also impose mandatory reporting obligations on Church officials.
• An accused cleric is presumed innocent until the delict is established through the canonical process or admitted.
• The same broad principles apply, with adaptations, in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
These norms reflect successive reforms (especially under Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) that raised the age of a “minor” to 18, expanded the list of related offenses (including pornography), strengthened reporting duties, and made penalties clearer and more severe. For the most precise application in a specific case, the full text of the revised canons, Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela, and the Dicastery’s Vademecum on procedural points should be consulted.
