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Sexual and other abuse
by clergy: A "perfect panic"

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Overview:

This section deals mainly with sexual abuse of youths and younger children by Roman Catholic clergy. Little information is available on the frequency of abuse among clergy in other Christian denominations and in other religions.

What little hard information that is available seems to indicate that:

	Pedophilia (sexual abuse by adults of pre-pubertal children) is lower among Catholic clergy than among the general male population.
	Hebephilia, a.k.a. ephebophilia, (the sexual abuse by adults of post-pubertal children) is much more common among Catholic clergy than in the general population; it is a major concern.
	Sexual abuse of children could probably be almost halved if women were allowed to be ordained in the church.
	Whenever detailed studies are made, massive levels of physical and sexual abuse in church-run residential schools is uncovered.

An episode of "The Vortex" discussed the problem in the Catholic church:

Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com discussed the abuse of children in the Catholic church. His talk is an interesting blend of accurate terminology, and hatred of gays, lesbians and liberals. His video makes for interesting viewing:

	He correctly identifies the abuse as being motivated by abusive hebephilia, not pedophilia as much of the secular media stated.
	He blamed the child sex abuse problem on liberals in the church. He describes their goal as to use the Catholic Church to advance the "homosexual agenda." Apparently he believes that their agenda involves high levels of child abuse. That is an interesting conclusion, which he does not support with facts.
	He commented: "One by one, these bishops and priests who [had] rained down spiritual terror on the church for decades are finally exiting the scene. In their place are good bishops and holy priests who love the Church and the faith." However, he still believes that the terrorist bishops and priests are still in the majority.

Quotations, accurate and inaccurate:

	"While the moral panic of Salem's witches may be over, an equally pernicious panic continues to grow -- that of the pedophile priest." Anne Hendershott. 1
	"Nothing much can shock us in today's world, but in the past weeks we've seen things, heard things, and read things that we never would have dreamed of." Father Raymond Mann, St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, MA, on Palm Sunday, 2002-MAR-24. 2
	"The far right will tell you the reason we have this problem goes back to Vatican II. We made too many reforms. They blame everything on the reforms. The far left says the problem we have today is we didn't make enough reforms. ... Both sides greet the bad news about the Catholic Church, particularly regarding matters sexual, as good news because they feel vindicated."  William Donohue, president of the Catholic League. 3
	"We would be naive and dishonest were we to say this is a Roman Catholic problem and has nothing to do with us because we have married and female priests in our church. Sin and abusive behavior know no ecclesial or other boundaries." Rt. Rev. William Persell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Good Friday Sermon, 2002. 4

Topics covered in this section:

This is a moral panic with roots that extend back for many decades.

	Background information: Introduction   We suggest that you read this essay first. Definitions of some terms related to sexual abuse of children & youth "Crimen Sollicitationis" -- A secret Vatican document of 1962 Roman Catholic priests with a homosexual orientation Catholic seminary students with a homosexual orientation Exclusion of homosexuals from Catholic seminaries
	Allegations of abuse by Roman Catholic clergy: How the current panic surfaced What percentage of priests abuse, and whom do they victimize? How the church initially reacted Further Information about crimes and settlements Part 1 Victim data; destruction of data; financial settlements. Part 2: Other impacts on the church; keeping documents secret. Independent survey of abuse Past sexual and physical abuse in Ireland's workhouses
	Allegations of abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses: Church policies and examples of abuse Reactions by church leaders, members, an advocacy group, etc.
	Repressed/recovered memories: The role of repressed/recovered memories Examples of recovered memories in clergy abuse cases The role of Theophostic Counseling Statement by almost 100 experts in the Shanley case
	Additional information: Interpreting the scandal as a moral panic The Canadian situation: precursor to American events What is the long-term solution? Books and articles dealing with sexual abuse by clergy

References:

1. Anne Hendershott, "A perfect panic," San Diego Union-Tribune, 2002-MAR-20, Page B-7. Professor Hendershott is a sociologist at the University of San Diego. She is the author of "The Politics of Deviance."
2. Jennifer Peter, "Abuse scandal shrouds beginning of Holy Week: Catholics asked to take solace from Easter message of victory over evil," Associated Press, 2002-MAR-24. Published in Toronto Star, 2002-MAR-25, Page A2.
3. Deborah Caldwell, "The Catholic church's Watergate," an interview of William Donohue, at: http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp
4. "Bishop of Chicago warns that no church is immune from scandal of clergy misconduct," Episcopal News Service, 2003-APR-04, at: http://www.dfms.org/
5. Scott Simmie, "Victim abused by priest: 'Floodgates will open'," The Toronto Star, 2002-MAR-24, at: http://www.thestar.com

Resources:

	BishopAccountability.org maintains a database of publicly accused Roman Catholic priests in the U.S., sorted by state and diocese. See: http://app.bishop-accountability.org/
	Pointer.org "is a non-profit school for journalists, focused on helping journalists get better at what they do." They maintain a Clergy Abuse Tracker at http://www.poynter.org/ It consists mainly of articles on clergy abuse extracted from newspapers and news services from around the world. An amazing resource.
	Reformation.com maintains a list of hundreds of instances of alleged sexual molestation scandals among Protestant denominations. As of 2002-SEP-3, these included 147 by Baptist ministers, 251 by other Fundamentalist / Evangelical leaders, 140 by Episcopal, 38 by Lutheran, 46 by Methodist, 19 by Presbyterian, and 198 by other church leaders. See: http://www.reformation.com
	The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) "is a self-help organization of men and women who were sexually abused by spiritual elders (Catholic priests, brothers, nuns, ministers, teachers, etc)....SNAP was founded by Barbara Blaine of Chicago in 1991." It has "several local chapters in the United States and Canada." See: http://www.survivorsnetwork.org

Copyright © 2002 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-MAR-25
Latest update: 2009-AUG-30
Author: B.A. Robinson

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