Are priests capable of molesting children demonstrating their own lack of belief in eternal damnation for committing sin?
Not necessarily,
There are varying levels of belief in any of these creeps,
Some, with 0 belief, likely enter the church thinking of easy access to kids, whereas some, mistakenly sincere/brainwashed (yet still vile) creeps fight their urges, think of themselves as doomed, but continue committing their crimes, perhaps "praying", thinking they're" forgiven
Not necessarily because it's not damndable sin. A few Hail Marys and they are right back right with their god
The mystique that the Church has built around itself extends to priests and they are perceived as being otherworldly by true believers, so they can do no wrong or be held accountable for their actions in the way that lesser mortals are.
That said, I recall a story of a village priest who impregnated several women in Italy during WWII while the husbands were away fighting. When the surviving soldiers returned home to several new babies with a striking resemblance to the parish priest it was decided that matters had to be taken in hand. They dragged the priest to the town square in the middle of the night, tied him to one of the trees and when he confessed after a sound beating it was decided to make it impossible for him to procreate again. A knife was considered but drawing blood was felt to be a sin so they used two bricks to do the job. The priest was found unconscious the next morning, still tied to the tree, the bricks weighing down his robes so that all could see that justice had been done. The Church removed the priest and didn't replace him for more than a year, nobody seemed to mind.
Not at all. They believe in the confessional system, so when they confess their deeds and are absolved and forgiven, they get a pass to go right back to abusing again. Abuse-confess-absolution. It's incredibly hypocritical and shielded by their "anonymous" confessional, so that everyone pretends they don't know who is confessing to the heinous crimes that are being committed. So they can believe in eternal damnation, but escape it at the same time. It's terribly convenient.
They somehow dismiss any guilt they may have. I had a significant other who was a victim of priest abuse.
I have said for 50 years, religion is a great hiding ground of pedophiles, and gays, who hide behind the pretense of a god, to "educate" children...and when they are "educated," send them off into the world of adulthood fucked up many times, beyond repair.
They are forgiven. Their system is closed and secure.
Paedophiles tend to chose careers where they can have unfettered access to children. The paedophillia comes first.
When they group together they not only absolve each other but they aid and abet one another.