I've met priests who are highly insightful and highly respected by the people they serve. And I've met priests who wouldn't give me the time of day simply for how I looked. Any priest worth their salt takes their job seriously and knows they are accountable for what they do and say (whether you believe in that authority or not is beside the point, if they are sincere then they do believe in the authority over their position). Trouble seems to be that the position is too easily abused. We can't paint an honest picture if we think position equals character. Any position in the hands of a corrupt person can be misused. Some more easily than others, no? A licensing board is a good start at preventing charlatans from taking advantage of people, but it's not fool-proof.
If you think I'm arguing to protect criminals from justice, I'm not. Just that the confessional requires absolute confidentiality to work. If we humans can't handle that without abusing it, then what? The problem lies within us, not the tool.
And no priest is an amateur if you consider years of school and passing rigorous tests a requirement to get out of the "amateur" category. They require years of training as well. By the looks of how much abuse is going on, I'd say the church and seminary are failing. But that is another matter they need to address.
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