The men in collars who lead more than half a million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati share the anguish when members of the church accuse their brother priests of sexual misconduct.

        The Rev. Robert Waller of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Milford said everyone suffers when priests abuse the young people they are supposed to lead, counsel and love.

        Father Waller said the vast majority of priests are simply trying to live the kind of life they promised to God. Most people in congregations believe and trust in that.

        But that doesn't lessen the dismay when priests sexually abuse teens.

        “It's the communal nature of sin,” Father Waller said. “We all suffer. Are (priests) more hesitant and cautious in our relationships with kids? I suspect we are. So the whole church gets hurt.”

        Allegations that priests have molested children have hit dioceses around the country, from Boston to San Francisco.

        Last week, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk said as many as five priests accused of sexual misconduct in Cincinnati's 19-county archdiocese have been allowed to resume priestly duties.

        None poses a threat to children, he said, because all are supervised and have no regular contact with youths.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said he will ask archdiocese officials to explain why the cases were never referred to law enforcement authorities.

        The Rev. Michael Pucke of St. Michael Catholic Church in Sharonville said he is glad the archdiocese passed a child protection decree in 1998 that outlines how the church will respond to allegations of abuse and how volunteers will be screened.

        “I am upset when I think about the devastating effect this has had on children,” Father Pucke said. “I am angry that some priests have tainted the reputation of all of us priests.”

        The Rev. Thomas Bokenkotter, pastor of Assumption Church in Walnut Hills and author of Concise History of the Catholic Church, said it is unfair to single out clergy for sexually abusing children when the behavior exists throughout society. The percentage of abusers in the priesthood is no different from that in society, he said.

        “The percentage of priests genuinely involved in pedophilia is hardly 1 percent,” he said. “Is that fair to focus on clergy, when that percentage is true of any group?

        “People should understand that the officials of the church are not divine. They're just a slice of humanity.”

        An editorial in the official newspaper of the Boston Archdiocese last week says the Roman Catholic Church must face the question of whether to drop its requirement that priests be celibate.

        Published Thursday in a special issue of The Pilot, the editorial asks whether there would be fewer scandals if celibacy were optional for priests and whether the priesthood attracts an unusually high number of homosexual men.

        That is nonsense, Father Waller said.

        “I don't think (celibacy) has caused the problem, nor do I think that it would go away,” if celibacy were optional, Father Waller said.

        “I know there are people that would claim that, but it's not the cause.”

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