In recent decades, there have been many news stories about abuse of teen-aged and younger boys by Roman Catholic priests. As bad as these stories were, the real scandal came when it was revealed how the Roman Catholic leadership, fearing scandal and damage to the church, in far too many cases merely shuffled these priests around, paid off families of victims, and covered up. Some priests were moved to several different areas, each time becoming tied up in scandals of molestation and abuse of young people under their care.

Using this as an excuse to express a preexisting hostility toward religion in general and Christianity in specific, the child molesting Roman Catholic Priest has become a running joke in liberal popular culture far outstripping the actual numbers and breadth of the scandal.