I wonder if Savile was abused as a child. I have read that often paedophiles have been molested by adults in their own childhood. With so many Catholic priests being found guilty of paedophilia in recent years it may be that one of Savile's own priests was guilty as well.
The other aspect of Savile's Catholic faith, and the fact as reported in that Telegraph article linked in an above post, that he attended Mass several times weekly, is the possibility that he mentioned his activities in Confession. Would a few Hail Marys help to alleviate his conscience? Also are there priests who knew about his offending but were prevented from speaking out by the church code relating to confessions?
It makes you feel dirty just writing about him.
This might have some relevance had the Catholic Church been the main facilitator for Savile's sexual predelictions, but in this particular case it doesn't appear to be so.
The issue of confession is interesting from the point of view of whether or not he would have felt confident to confess his 'sins' to a priest and sought absolution, precisely in order to continue the abuse... A fresh start every week! However, given the secretive and calculated M.O. of such offenders, I would guess that Savile shared the actual details of his perversions with only a very few close collaborators and confidantes, despite apparently hiding in plain sight for all these years .
As for the simplistic extrapolation that all abusers must themselves have been abused and therefore go on to become abusers; it is a common theme in social work, but it is not a contention that has much evidence to support it. It's true that many abusers were themselves abused, but the truth is that the majority of people who suffer such trauma in childhood do not go on to become sex monsters as adults. Not all Catholic boys were shagged by their priests and not all Catholic priests were/are paedophiles.
I have no desire to defend the Catholic Church, I have absolutely no time for it based on bitter personal experience, but I find the extrapolation of
"Ah, he was a Catholic, stands to reason he'd be a paedophile too.." as indicative of other deeper rooted prejudices which afflict the British psyche.
The clue is not in the religious sect itself, but in all organisations which provide easy access to children for sexual predators. Those can include churches, youth clubs, children's care homes, children's hospitals, boy scouts, girl guides, etc, etc... and broadcasters like the BBC.
