Douthat argues that part of the blame goes to the permissive sexual culture of the 1970s.

Steve replies that this is silliness. The culture of the 1970s, whatever this means, did not in any way condone or accept the molestation of children. Additionally, the scandalous behavior did not end when the decade did.

Douthat is hinting at the tired old “child molesters are gay people” canard that is as silly and demeaning as it is just plain wrong.

Steve’s snippet makes it sound as if Douthit was giving primary blame to the permissive sexual culture. In fact, his primary culprit is “the church’s conservative instincts — the insistence on institutional loyalty, obedience and the absolute authority of clerics — that allowed the abuse to spread unpunished.”l

Douthit also explained why he cited “overemphasis on therapy” In a sentence that Steve unfairly omits, Douthit wrote, “(Again and again, bishops relied on psychiatrists rather than common sense in deciding how to handle abusive clerics.)”

Frankly, I thought Steve had a pretty good point. He didn’t need to present it unfairly in order to be convincing.