Rimrock,
I grew up not far behind you, as I'm 65. I had an uncle who was a priest, two brothers who ARE priests (pastors) right now. I served as an altar boy from 2nd grade well into high school. I went to the high school seminary, and spent 2 years in the collegiate. When I married, my wife and our kids were all heavily involved at the local parish. But things began to change, even at that level. I'll not go through it all, but there was an attitude change among many in the clergy. Some of the stories about what happened to my kids as they served (readers, cantors, etc.) were not horrific, but they very clearly were designed to put these young women in their place. And it had it's effect, for all three of them checked out, as did my wife, for the way SHE was treated as a cantor. I was the last to catch on, and for me, it  honestly took the scandal.

There are still many very good priests out there. But the church has been, and continues to be discredited. They must fix this mess.