There is nothing more horrible than child abuse. Jesus said of those who lead children astray, “It would be better if a millstone were hung around their necks and they were thrown in the sea.” But the recent scandal surrounding certain Catholic priests should not be allowed to obscure the wonderfully clear teachings of Jesus about sex, to which millions of Christians, especially in the Catholic Church, strive to be faithful.

Following this latest rash of negative publicity, Christians need to take back their faith from those who wear its clothes but don't live it, and publicly witness to what our faith teaches and what we believe-that no one is closer to God than children, and that our bodies are temples of God, fashioned in his image, to be kept pure by abstaining from sex outside of marriage.

I am not Catholic, but my book Sex, God, and Marriage (formerly titled A Plea for Purity) is widely used by Catholic religious educators, and has enjoyed the support of Mother Teresa, who wrote the foreword, and of Pope John Paul II and several Cardinals, who have endorsed it. In thirty years of promoting chastity and faithfulness in marriage, I have found no other church (than the Catholic Church) that advocates such a clear stand on sexual purity, or a leadership so concerned about the direction of our society in this regard. This is what should be making headlines. We owe it to the tens of thousands of priests who faithfully serve God and their people.

As a marriage counselor I know what self-discipline it takes for most people simply to remain faithful in marriage. So it must take far more conviction and commitment to take a vow of lifelong celibacy, as priests do. I am married myself, and can't imagine doing my pastoral work without my wife's support and our shared experience, but Jesus himself said of celibacy, “Let those accept it who can.”

Of course, the problem of pedophilia is not limited to these publicized incidents. The world is full of pedophiles and child abusers, many of them married. The media, the public, and especially other Christians, should remember the words of Jesus: “Whoever is without sin should cast the first stone.” Rather than condemning the Catholic Church wholesale because of the hypocrisy of a few, we need to get serious about tackling this problem at its roots-in our pornographic, sex-crazed culture, and particularly the sexualization of children in advertising and entertainment. What basis do we have for finger pointing, when so much that we tolerate in our society undermines the standards we would have others uphold? If we hope to save our children from these evils, we need to reaffirm, not attack, the moral framework the Catholic Church offers, and rediscover its reverence toward human sexuality as holy ground.

Johann Christoph Arnold is a pastor, marriage counselor and author of ten books, including Sex, God, and Marriage and Endangered: Your Child in a Hostile World, available at 1-800-521-8011 or www.plough.com.