See also: Tiberius Redux

The latest offensive against morality, decency, and sanity in America has been launched by a pro-pedophilia group and several academics who openly advocate for the normalization and legalization of pedophilia.  Referring to Judeo-Christian moral principles and values as "cultural baggage of wrongfulness" and an adult's desire to sexually molest a child as "normative," these predators with Ph.D.s are hell-bent on destroying key moral boundaries and critical societal norms that protect innocent children from pathological and dangerous adults.

On August 17 of this year, the pro-pedophilia group B4U-ACT sponsored an event in Baltimore attended by researchers, professors, mental health professionals, and "minor-attracted persons" (MAP, a euphemism for "adults who crave sex with children").  These individuals endorse the adult molestation of children, consider this sexual perversion as normal, and advocate for the declassification of pedophilia as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

The academic panelists who presented at this "pedophilia-friendly" scientific symposium came from such distinguished institutions as Johns Hopkins University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

According to a press release issued by Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action, and Dr. Judith Reisman, visiting law professor at Liberty University School of Law, who attended the event, several admitted pedophiles were in attendance, in addition to many academics and university professors.  The keynote address was given by Dr. Fred Berlin of Johns Hopkins University, who proclaimed that he wants to "completely support the goal of B4U-ACT."

Key highlights from the conference include these disturbing assertions (more disturbing excerpts available at the end of this article):

• Pedophiles are "unfairly stigmatized and demonized" by society.
• "The majority of pedophiles are gentle and rational."
• There was concern about "vice-laden diagnostic criteria" and "cultural baggage of wrongfulness."
• "We are not required to interfere with or inhibit our child's sexuality."
• "Children are not inherently unable to consent" to sex with an adult.
• An adult's desire to have sex with children is "normative."
• Our society should "maximize individual liberty. ... We have a highly moralistic society that is not consistent with liberty."
• "In Western culture sex is taken too seriously."
• "Anglo-American standard on age of consent is new [and 'Puritanical'].  In Europe it was always set at 10 or 12. Ages of consent beyond that are relatively new and very strange, especially for boys. They've always been able to have sex at any age."
•  "Assuming children are unable to consent lends itself to criminalization and stigmatization."
• A consensus belief by both speakers and pedophiles in attendance was that, because it vilifies MAPs, pedophilia should be removed as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), in the same manner homosexuality was removed in 1973.

There is no greater moral imperative than the protection of the innocent, and especially defenseless children.  These timeless and universal truths are embedded in the Judeo-Christian principles and moral precepts upon which American society and legal system are based.  Any adult -- especially a university professor or medical doctor -- who cannot grasp such elementary morality has no business teaching, counseling, or treating anyone, especially dangerous predators with an appetite for children.

What these academics are doing -- i.e., providing comfort and support for child-rapists and molesters  -- is unconscionable and unethical.  Instead of helping to suppress these abusers' sick desires, correct their delusional attractions, and moderate (or hopefully cure) their mental illness, these professionals sympathize with these monsters and minimize the evil they perpetrate.  Rather than work to suppress the abomination in these pedophiles' minds and souls, these academics stoke these warped passions with the fuel of justification, rationalization, and normalization.

And their treachery doesn't stop there.  Academics like Fred Berlin, M.D., Ph.D.; Nancy Nyquist Potter, Ph.D.; and others are also attempting to destroy societal protections of children by pushing to declassify this dangerous perversion as a mental illness and decriminalize the behavior.  In essence, they advocate the elimination of statutory rape and sexual offender registration laws designed to protect minors from being sexually exploited by adults, thus removing the ability of the state to punish and incarcerate these monsters.  How many other potential predators -- who previously suppressed their lusts for fear of incarceration, societal rebuke, and sexual predator registration laws -- will now be encouraged to succumb to their perverse impulses, cheered on and defended by credentialed academics and fully protected by a neutered legal system? 

What do the leadership of John Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Louisville have to say about their professors attending a pro-pedophile conference and advocating for the "normalization" of adults having sex with children?  What about the donors, supporters, and alumni who support these institutions?  Are they aware that their donations pay for these professors' salaries and help promote these kinds of "academic" activities?  Is this an indication of the level of "scholarship" and "intellectual discourse" we expect to see in the future from these acclaimed institutions?  What's next?  A conference on how to de-stigmatize and normalize producers, distributors, and users of child porn?

Chris Banescu is an attorney, entrepreneur, and university professor.  He regularly blogs at www.chrisbanescu.com and www.orthodoxnet.com/blog.