1. .
Abstract
Sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy members emerged in
the public’s conscious in 2002, when the Boston Globe exposed the
cover-up of abuse committed in the Church (Ackerman & Kahn,
2011). The newspaper revealed the extensive nature of the abuse,
which affected children as young as three years old and dates back
to the Middle Ages (Thomas, 2014). The report sparked a chain
reaction of other investigations across the country and the globe.
Numerous lawsuits were brought against the Church for both the
acts of sexual abuse and the cover-up initiated by high-ranking
Catholic officials. Instead of sanctioning abusive priests, members
of the Catholic hierarchy reassigned the offending priests to
neighboring districts, where the abuse continued (“Report: Accused
priests shuffled worldwide,” 2004). Victims were told if they came
forward, either they or their family members would go to Hell
(Thomas, 2014). In many instances, the statue of limitations of
rape or sexual abuse had expired and victims were not able to press
criminal charges. In the last few years, the Catholic Church has
made over one billion dollars in reparations to victims, although
this cannot account for the significant psychological distress
experienced by the victims of abuse (“Report: Accused priests
shuffled worldwide,” 2004).
Discussion
Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is a relatively new topic of
research in the counseling field, due to the history of secrecy in the
Church, as well as the trend to handle abuse allegations within the
Church and forbidding outsiders’ access. The largest quantitative
study on sexual abuse victims was conducted at the John Jay
College of Criminal Justice after being commissioned by the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Ackerman & Kahn,
2011). 8748 cases of sexual abuse dating between 1950-2003 were
analyzed, including victims of both genders and of all ages. The
data was analyzed utilizing a new quantitative technique, which
would account for delays in victim reporting, in order to present a
more accurate depiction of the number of reported incidences of
sexual abuse annually. The purpose of the newly developed
statistical model is to better understand how Catholic Church
policies influenced the prevalence of abuse in the Church
Discussion (cont.)
Moreover, it helps researchers understand why victims may be less
likely to report abuse. Predictive factors include: knowing their
attacker, fearing punishment, and anticipating a lack of social
support, among others. Counselors may be able to target victims
who are unlikely to report their abuse and assuage them of their
fears and worries. The developed model can be used in future
research to determine how social policies and practices of the
Church impact the prevalence of clergy sexual abuse (Ackerman &
Kahn, 2011).
The John Jay study was also analyzed in an effort to identify
potential abusers and reduce opportunities for misconduct. The
researchers analyzed data from two studies within the John Jay
study, known as the “Nature and Scope” study and the “Causes and
Context” study (Terry & Freilich, 2012). The “Nature and Scope”
study contains data from all priests and deacons in the country
between 1950-2002. Data for the “Causes and Context” study
originated from a variety of sources, including longitudinal
analyses, surveys and interviews or inactive priests and their
victims. A significant amount of heterogeneity was found within
the priest-abuser population, which makes developing prevention
policies based on individual characteristics challenging. Thus, the
researchers advocate development and usage of prevention policies
based on situational factors: education, situation prevention models,
and oversight and accountability. The research suggests that sexual
abuse may be reduced in five ways: increase the effort required for
priests to abuse, increase the risks if identified, reduce the rewards
by providing other opportunities for close relationships, reduce
provocations by reducing negative affective states in priests, and
remove excuses by educating the parish on what is acceptable priest
behavior (Terry & Freilich, 2012). Based on their research, this
would be a more effective plan to reduce opportunities for priests to
sexually abuse children in their parish. This model can also be
generalized to society as a whole, as abuse of children is not unique
to the Catholic Church.
Conclusion
Clergy sexual abuse is a pervasive and growing issue in the
counseling field. Counselors working with children and the
Catholic community should be aware of the impact of the
abuse on an individual’s well-being. Counselors should also
be aware of predictive factors of abuse, in order to identify
potential victims who have not come forward to due the
history of Catholic authorities silencing and threatening
victims. Future research in the field should be aimed at
developing social policies to prevent not only acts of abuse,
but the systemic cover-up of abuse within the Church.
Moreover, reform is needed in how the Church handles priests
and abusers within the Church. Church authorities should
reform sanctions, so that priests are not reassigned to new
parishes, exposing them to a new population of potential
victims.
Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
Sasha Albrecht
Literature cited
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Terry, K. J., & Freilich, J. D. (2012). Understanding Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Priests from a Situational
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Thomas, Antony (Writer & Director) (2014, February 25). Secrets of the Vatican [Television series episode]. In
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