CLERICAL AND RELIGIOUS CHILD ABUSE:

IRELAND AND BEYOND

Linda Hogan. Theological Studies. Washington: Mar 2011. Vol. 72, Iss. 1;
pg. 170, 17 pgs

Abstract (Summary)
The note considers recent theological commentary on the clerical sexual
abuse crisis in Ireland and beyond. It examines the nature and extent of the
crisis within the Catholic Church through the lens of the Murphy and Ryan
Reports. These two reports together provide an invaluable resource for
understanding the theological, ethical, and ecclesiological dimensions of this
scandal. The note also considers "the shape of the reform" that is urgently
needed within the Church under the headings of (1) the body and sexuality,
(2) patriarchy and the abuse of power, and (3) church, ministry, and
leadership. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

 »  Jump to indexing (document details)

Full Text 
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Copyright Theological Studies, Inc. Mar 2011

[Headnote]
The note considers recent theological commentary on the clerical sexual abuse crisis in Ireland and
Catholic Church through the lens of the Murphy and Ryan Reports. These two reports together prov
and ecclesiological dimensions of this scandal. The note also considers "the shape of the reform" th
body and sexuality, (2) patriarchy and the abuse of power, and (3) church, ministry, and leadership.

IN 1967 PETER TYRRELL'S CHARRED BODY was found on Hampstead

Heath in London. In an act that mirrored the self-immolation of Buddhist
monks protesting the Vietnam war, the Irish man set himself on fire, having
been crushed by his failure to have his experience of incarceration in the
now notorious Letterfrack industrial school properly acknowledged either by
the Irish State or by the Christian Brothers who ran the institution. Founded
on Fear,1 his account of his childhood in Letterfrack, was finally published in
2006, almost 40 years after it had been written, having been discovered
among the papers of academic and peace activist Owen Sheehy
Skeffington. Founded on Fear is but one of the many literary testimonials
that, from a child's perspective, describe in harrowing detail the experience
of being in such institutions. Mannix Flynn,2 Paddy Doyle,3 and Patrick
Touher4 each also write about their experiences in institutions like
Letterfrack where, as the recently published Ryan Report states, "physical
punishment was severe, excessive and pervasive and by being administered
in public or within earshot of other children it was used as a means of
engendering fear and ensuring control,"5 and where "sexual abuse was a
chronic problem."6

The genre of testimonial has become an important one as we try to

understand the complexity of these and other violations of children, and also
as we come to terms with the ethical issues raised by such occurrences.
Sumner Twiss's "Humanities and Atrocities: Some Reflections," commenting
on the educational significance of such writings, including testimonials and
fiction, suggests that they provide an important resource for ethicists, since
these texts have the capacity to "raise profound questions, appeal to the
imagination and moral sensibilities and engender critical and creative
thinking."7 Of victims' testimonies, he says they "reveal the devastating
physical and psychological effects of atrocity and, through a type of
participant observation, reveal the mimetic effects of atrocity in turning
victims into collaborative victimisers, as well as helping us make sense of
the rules and codes governing the social reality of atrocity."8 Although the
language of atrocity has not been particularly prevalent in the commentary
on the sexual abuse crisis thus far, the publication of the Ryan Report and of
the Murphy Report,9 both issued in 2009, suggests that it may indeed be an
appropriate language through which to try to comprehend, at least in part,
some of the issues at stake for the Catholic Church.

THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF THE CRISIS

Since the early 1990s Catholics worldwide have had to come to terms with
the knowledge that the sexual abuse of children and minors by priests and
religious has been widespread and systemic. The reportage of individual
cases in the United States, Canada, and Ireland during the early 1980s was
consolidated in 1985 by the National Catholic Reporter's analysis of a range
of cases,10 so that when the Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland,
published its groundbreaking Report of the Archdiocesan Commission of
Enquiry into the Sexual Abuse of Children by Members of the Clergy, u the
initial assumption that these occurrences were rare and isolated could no
longer be sustained. Through the 1990s, during what Timothy Lytton calls
"the second wave"12 of this scandal, a number of high-profile prosecutions
established the systemic nature of the problem within the Church. However,
as Joseph Chinnici,13 Lytton, and Philip Lawler all acknowledge, it was only
in the early years of the new century that an entirely new and devastating
dimension of the scandal began to reveal itself, namely, the evidence that
Catholic bishops, with very few exceptions, had not only protected the
abusers but in the process had also breached the procedures of both civil
and canon law.14 Indeed, in his commentary on reforming the Irish church,
the Jesuit Seamus Murphy points to this failure to apply the procedures of
canon law as perhaps the most shocking aspect of the crisis, since in this
context the bishops failed to apply to those abusers the very law they
themselves were responsible for enforcing.15

The pattern of clerical abuse accompanied by episcopal cover-up was

clearly exposed in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, with similar
revelations that had an equally dramatic effect on the standing of the
Church, evident in the dioceses of Los Angeles, Dallas, Liverpool, UK, and
Ferns, Ireland, during the same period. Moreover, the devastation wrought
by almost three decades of revelations in an ever growing number of
dioceses world-wide was deepened further with the publication of the Ryan
and Murphy reports in Ireland in 2009, and with the emerging accounts of
abuse and cover-up in Belgium, France, Germany, and The Netherlands
during 2010.16 Although the full extent of the abuse of children will never be
known, it is clear that the revelations of abuse and cover-up within the
Catholic Church can be expected to continue for some time to come. The
growing number of cases in different European countries confirm this as a
likely scenario. Moreover, in Ireland attention is now turning to the
missionary work of Irish religious overseas, with concern being expressed
that a similar pattern of cover-up may have been operative in Africa and
certain parts of Asia.17

Many analyses of the ethical and ecclesiological significance of the crisis

begin with a discussion of the prevalence of child and minor abuse within the
Church. Recognizing that clergy sexual abuse is part of a larger
phenomenon that occurs in different institutions and also in families, the
issue of prevalence rates among clergy is significant for the Church as it
attempts to understand the nature of this phenomenon. The most
comprehensive data on clergy sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is
found in the much-quoted John Jay Report, a study by scholars at the John
Jay College of Criminal Justice. The original report, commissioned by the
USCCB, surveyed 195 dioceses in the United States (98% of the total) and
140 religious orders (60% of the total) and worked within the time-frame
1950 to 2002. Updated audits in 2004, 2005, and 2006 completed the
work.18 Commentators acknowledge that the numbers are "staggering."19
In the time-frame of the original report, 10,667 victims came forward, and
4,392 priests had allegations of abuse against them. This represents 4% of
priests in active ministry at that time. There have been no comparable
studies in other jurisdictions, although the more limited studies that do exist
confirm the broad outlines of the John Jay figures.20 Drawing attention to
some of the distinctive features of clergy sexual abuse, Lytton notes that (1)
most of the abuse reported was of a very serious nature and occurred
numerous times; (2) roughly half of accused priests were known or
suspected to have had more than one victim; (3) 80% of victims were male,
and over 77% were over 11 years of age; and (4) alleged incidents
increased steadily in the 1950s and 1960s, peaked in the 1970s, and
declined from the 1980s.21

In addition to the issue of prevalence, commentators are also concerned

about the form or nature of the abuse among clergy. Both Philip Jenkins and
Marie Keenan discuss the various forms of classification,22 although each
insists that such classifications must be seen as products of discursive
processes and that attention must be paid to the practices and techniques
that construct our evolving understanding of the sexual abuse of children,
and that determine child protection policies.23 Discussions about the nature
of clergy sexual abuse as being classically pedophilia or based in some
other paraphilic predisposition continue. In Studia moralia Rafael Prada
discusses these psychological aspects of the phenomenon within a
theological framework, and in the context of developing a response to both
victims and perpetrators.24 Although pedophilia is acknowledged to be a
factor in some of the abuse, the current consensus is that the most
extensive data do not support the conclusion that most of these acts were
predicated by pathologies such as pedophilia,25 but rather that the
explanation of this history of abuse must be located elsewhere. Indeed this
consensus forms the basis of most of the theological discussion of both the
nature of the crisis and of the measures necessary to address it.

HOW AND WHY? INSIGHTS FROM THE RYANAND MURPHY REPORTS

"Ireland has become an international disgrace," wrote sociologist Tom Inglis

in the Irish Times in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the Ryan
Report. "It is now known that we incarcerated thousands of innocent little
children into schools where they were raped, abused and tortured. How and
why did it happen?"26 In fact, the Ryan Report is illuminating on how and
why this happened. Although aspects of the report have been criticized, its
findings, which run to 5 volumes and 2,600 pages, not only provide a
window on the cultural and religious values that shaped the institutions in
which the abuse happened, but they also highlight the pernicious nature of
the symbiotic relationship of church and state that allowed the abuse to go
unchecked. The Ryan Report's structure is dictated by the parameters of the
legislation that gave rise to the investigation. Volumes 1 and 2 focus on in-
depth investigations into particular institutions; volume 3 deals with material
covered in confidential hearings, with conclusions presented according to
particular themes (i.e., social and demographic profile, circumstances of
admission to the institutions, family circumstances, everyday life
experiences, record of abuse, positive memories, and current
circumstances); and volume 4 analyzes the role played by the state in
placing children in these "industrial" schools and orphanages, and in being
their primary funder and monitor. Volumes 1 and 2 are especially interesting
in that they treat each institution in a holistic manner. They discuss the
nature of the religious orders that ran the institutions and detail their
respective organizational and management structures and their different
funding arrangements. They also discuss the nature of the religious vows
taken, the attitudes to corporal punishment, and their different approaches to
questions of discipline and authority. Volume 4 is most insightful in its
consideration of the extent and depth of the Church's social control of each
of the key institutions of the Irish state, including the Departments of
Education, Finance, Health, and Justice. Indeed, perhaps more than
anything, the Ryan Report reveals the devastating contradiction at the heart
of post-independent Ireland, namely, that within the state the Catholic
Church presided over a "secret, enclosed world, run on fear,"27 while at the
same time being lauded internationally as a model "Catholic" nation. "At a
time when so many of the workers of various countries have fallen prey to
false theories and ideologies that are in direct contrast to the Christian
religion," Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini wrote, "it was a source of
particular gratification to His Holiness to receive this further proof of the
devoted attachment of the workers of Ireland to the Vicar of Christ, and to
their fidelity to the Catholic Faith, which is their nation's most precious
heritage."28 External validation was complemented by a selfcongratulatory
posture within the Irish church, and was trumpeted by the state at all levels,
thus ensuring that the shadow side was neither acknowledged nor
addressed.

If the Ryan Report documents the abuse and neglect within the context of a
policy of large-scale institutionalization of children, the Commission of
Investigation: Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin (Murphy
Report) focuses on the Archdiocese of Dublin with its 200 parishes. This
report covered the period 1975 to 2004 and took a representative sample of
46 cases out of a total of 172 during that period. In her review of the
Church's handling of the 46 sample cases of allegations of sexual abuse,
Ms. Justice Yvonne Murphy concluded that

the Dublin Archdiocese's pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child

sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy,
the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and
the preservation of its assets. All other considerations, including the welfare
of children and justice for victims, were subordinated to these priorities.29
Many of the cases were already known to the public, thanks mainly to the
courage and perseverance of a number of victims of abuse, including
Andrew Madden and Marie Collins. Nonetheless, the disclosure of the
violence of the abuse and of the mendacity of church authorities (especially
in the 1990s, when the failure of the earlier policy of "treatment" followed by
reassignment was well known) stunned a population already coming to
terms with the Ryan Report.

Two edited volumes, one by Redemptorist Tony Flannery, the other by John
Littleton and Eamon Maher, represent initial attempts by Irish theologians
and commentators to identify the cultural and theological factors that
facilitated the perpetration of the abuse and its cover-up. The Flannery
volume, which focuses on the Ryan Report, is structured around an analysis
of the origins of the problem, a discussion of the report itself and reactions to
it, and some initial considerations of "where we go from here." Moral
theologian Sean Fagan's insightful essay opens the volume and captures
perfectly the manner in which Irish culture was deeply imbued with what he
calls "our bad theology." Fagan's essay focuses primarily on the negative
consequences of the Church's theology of sexuality, especially as it was
played out in the country's cultural mores. However, he also comments on
the damage done to individuals (including, one must assume, the
perpetrators) by the demand that absolute obethence be given to the
institution. All this, Fagan notes, was underwritten by a perfectionism and a
narrowness that was characteristic of Irish Catholicism and that allowed for
the institutionalization of physical and sexual abuse for over six decades.30
The Littleton/Maher volume includes reflections by three victims/survivors of
sexual abuse, including two individuals, Andrew Madden and Marie Collins,
whose particular cases were among those examined by the Murphy
Commission. The essays cover considerable ground, albeit in a limited
manner, focusing on the pain and trauma of the revelations,31 the
institutional culture within the Church that allowed such a situation to go
unchallenged for so long,32 the need for reform,33 and the prospects of
forgiveness.34

Theologians have been reacting not only to the reports themselves but also
to the formal church response, and especially to the various forms of
commentary from the Vatican. Reaction to Benedict XVI's much anticipated
Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland has noted with appreciation the
tone and register of the text.35 Bernard Treacy, O.P., long-time editor of
Doctrine and Life, comments that "there is a sense ... of a writer
overwhelmed by the enormity of what he has had to confront, both in the
horror of abuse and in the dereliction of duty among church leaders to whom
it was reported."36 This sense of struggle, Treacy suggests, together with a
clear enumeration of some of the factors that contributed to the crisis, has
also been positively received. Such factors include "inadequate procedures
for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and religious
life; insufficient moral, intellectual, and spiritual formation in seminaries and
novitiates; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the
avoidance of scandal."37 However, much of the theological reaction to the
Letter's other assumptions and claims has been critical. The Letter's claim
that the blame can be located both with the secularization of Irish society
and with the misinterpretation of the program of renewal proposed by
Vatican II, has been criticized.38 Commentators point to the fact that most of
the matters considered in the reports predate these developments by
decades and so are unlikely to be primary contributory causes.39 Treacy
simply says that chronology itself makes the point. Much of the theological
analysis also notes the inadequacy of the Letter's diagnosis of the nature of
the problem and its prescription for a remedy.40 Moreover, there is a
concern that the underlying issues, the ultimate causative factors, will not be
addressed. Warning against any suggestion that the church in Ireland could
ignore the ultimate causes and return to "business as usual," Dermot Lane
insisted that the Church must undergo a change of heart, which must be
accompanied by a new program of reform. Moreover, Lane claims, this
"programme of reform and restructuring must result in new forms of
governance and new forms of accountability."41 Although the prescriptions
for reform vary somewhat, nonetheless, most analysis converges on a
number of core issues that have emerged, not only in Ireland but also in the
literature internationally. These are (1) the theology of the body and sexuality
that has framed Catholic ethics; (2) the related, endemic patriarchy that
facilitated such a cavalier neglect of children; and (3) the many
ecclesiological issues, including the concept of authority, the nature of
ministry, and the role of the laity. "We must change or die," warned veteran
reformer Fr. Harry Bohan. "Nothing short of total reformation of structures
and leadership will suffice."42

THE SHAPE OF REFORM

The Body and Sexuality

For over a decade, theologians reflecting on the clergy sexual abuse crisis
have drawn attention to the Church's teaching on sexuality as an underlying
issue that merits attention.43 The view that an inadequate theology of
sexuality is one of the causative factors in this crisis fits within a broader
frame of dissatisfaction and debate about the Church's approach to the body
and to sexuality. James Keenan's "Notes in Moral Theology" in Theological
Studies over the last decade provide a comprehensive analysis of the
manifold perspectives within these debates, especially his notes from 2005,
2007, and 2010.44 In the context of the most recent revelations, Gerry O'
Hanlon points to "a problematic nexus around sexuality, power and the
relationship between them"45 at the core of the crisis. He notes the
corrosive effect that the failure of reception in this area has had on the
Church, insisting that "a large majority of practicing Catholics have not
'received' this teaching as true."46 In a forthcoming article on various
theological dimensions of the crisis in Europe, Marie-Jo Thiel makes a
similar point. She notes a serious problem with the vision of the body that
underlies the Church's sexual ethic. Moreover, she suggests, a problematic
vision of the body, combined with a particular conceptualization of authority
and obedience, poses a difficulty for the Church as it attempts to come to
terms with the sex abuse crisis.47 The manner in which the sex abuse crisis
highlights the limitations of the Church's approach to the body and to
sexuality is also noted by both Antonio Autiero and Marianne-Heimbach
Steins.48 Bishop Geoffrey Robinson too makes this point in his Confronting
Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus. His
more pastorally oriented discussion argues for an approach to sexuality that
is compassionate and people-centered.49 Tony Flannery is more explicit in
terms of the specific reforms he would like to see implemented immediately.
He is looking for four basic changes in the Church's teaching on sexuality:

Firstly that we begin from a positive rather than a negative position; secondly
we break the rigid connection between sexual activity and marriage; thirdly
we no longer teach that the use of artificial contraception in a loving
relationship is sinful, . . . and fourthly church leadership learns to trust the
believing community and develops its teaching in partnership with them,
rather than handing it down in an authoritarian manner.50

Since the mid-1950s the Church's teaching on sexual ethics has evolved; in
particular we have seen the beginnings of a change in the Catholic
tradition's long-standing suspicion of the body. Pope John Paul II has been
particularly associated with this revalorization of the moral significance of the
body, and reflections on the implications of such an evolution have been of
concern to moral theologians for the last two decades.51 Reflecting on the
relationship between the clergy sexual abuse crisis and the Church's
approach to sexuality, much of the theological analysis has focused on its
continuing inadequacy, notwithstanding the evolution that has occurred.
Discussion of celibacy's role in the crisis has been a preoccupation for a
decade now.52 Brendan Callaghan's conclusion is that

the problem is not of professed celibates needing to grow into the complete
expression of what they have professed . . . but of a culture where, on the
one hand, struggles, difficulties and failures are almost impossible to
acknowledge . . . and where, on the other hand, documented evidence
exists of some cases of active sexual relationships between bishops and
their clergy, and religious superiors and their subjects.53

In his editorial in "L'Église catholique, la pédophilie, le celibate et les droits

de l'homme," Hubert Faës takes a similar position, arguing that it is not
celibacy per se, but rather the manner in which it functions within the
Church, and in particular the manner in which it sets clergy apart from the
rest of the faithful, that implicates celibacy in the scandal.54 Essays by
Margaret Farley and Stephen Pope develop some of the nuances of how
mandatory celibacy can be understood to be a factor in the crisis.55 Recent
comments by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone suggesting that homosexuality is at
the root of the sexual abuse problem have also occasioned debate. Tina
Beattie argues that to lay the blame at the door of homosexuality is to
misunderstand the crisis. She acknowledges that Catholic institutional life
may provide the ideal culture in which the male attraction to pubescent boys
can flourish, but she argues that the root of the crisis lies in "the poisonous
legacy of a long tradition of contempt for human sexuality in an institution
which has privileged secrecy, self-interest and unaccountable power over
transparency, dialogue and democratic participation."56 Joe Rigert's An Irish
Tragedy makes a similar point.57

Patriarchy and the Abuse of Power

Both Tina Beattie and Mary Malone bring a feminist analysis to bear on the
current crisis, drawing attention to the role that the theology of sexuality, with
its negative appraisal of the body and its particular disgust of the female
body, played a role in the sex abuse scandal. In a searing critique Beattie
argues that

in a religion in which the main focus has been the development of men's
spirituality through the suppression of their sexuality, ... the control of female
sexuality has been and continues to be a major preoccupation. This in turn
leads to the accumulation of power over other people's bodies, it allows men
to believe that their primary spiritual responsibility lies in the area of sexual
discipline, and the use of power becomes a means to inhibit and punish
sexual desire.

It is not difficult to see how this might create a dark spiral of temptation, guilt
and punishment focused on the "sin" of sexual arousal and the bodies which
cause itwhether those are the bodies of women, children or men, or indeed
one's own (which becomes subject to extravagant masochistic practices of
chastisement).
Moreover, she argues, whereas in the past the Church's

pathologically dysfunctional attitude to sex . . . has been targeted primarily at

women . . . today homosexuals are also included, perhaps because dramatic
transformations in western society mean that homosexual bodies have also
become highly visible sources of temptation for a religious hierarchy which
includes many homosexuals among its ranks. So the "problem" of
homosexuality has now been added to the age-old ''problem" of female
sexuality with which the men of the church must do battle.58

Through the extensive testimony of victims, Ireland's Ryan Report provides

ample and vivid evidence of this aspect of the Catholic tradition's approach
to the body. Severe physical neglect, starvation, and floggings of children
were commonplace, and the recollections of victims, and occasionally of
those implicated in the abuse reveal a profound disgust of and hatred for the
body - views that were invariably conveyed through religious language and
values.59

The Ryan Report suggests that a more nuanced perspective to the issue of
gender is needed, however, since a significant portion of the physical abuse,
including seriously degrading treatment, was visited on children by religious
women.60 It is obvious that women as well as men adopt and promote
patriarchal values. However, although this is accepted in most feminist
analysis, its implications are rarely addressed. In 1999, commenting on the
abuse of children in industrial schools, I wrote:

The degree to which women as well as men invested themselves in these

institutions requires us to rethink the religious and moral formation that
underlay and sustained such practices. We desperately need a systematic
analysis of the various positions that men and women, religious and lay,
adopted, together with an investigation of the underlying theology. The truth
will inevitably be ambiguous and multi-layered, with prevarication and
accommodation as well as resistance being part of the story. What is clear,
however, is that an overly monolithic conception of male dominance will
obfuscate rather than reveal the complex dynamic of power that
characterises these human relationships.61

A decade on, very little attention has been given to this difficult issue,
although in their different ways Brendan McConvery, Margaret Lee (a former
Sister of Mercy), and Fainche Ryan begin to consider some aspects of the
complexities of religious life, although not the gendered aspects.62 Both
McConvery and Ryan draw attention to the existence of what amounted to a
caste system within these congregations, with the establishment of a two-tier
system of membership, "regulated by increasingly water-tight social
distinctions."63 Moreover, as McConvery suggests, something of the same
class distinction is observable in the chosen activities of the congregations,
and explains, at least in part, why both the Christian Brothers and the Sisters
of Mercy featured strongly in the provision of social care for the poor, and
therefore in running the industrial schools that became such a source of
scandal.

Church, Ministry, and Leadership

Just as commentary on the sexual aspects of this crisis draw on existing

debates about the adequacy of the Church's theology of sexuality,
considerations of the ecclesial issues raised are contextualized within a
broader discussion about the theology of Church, ministry, and laity. Gerry
O'Hanlon, in his "The Future of the Catholic Church - A View from Ireland,"
captures the overwhelming consensus among theologians and laity when he
insists "we will need an altogether different vision of Church ... if we are to
change the clericalist culture that is at the root of our present crisis, the
effects of which are altogether more pervasive than the issue of child
abuse."64 O'Hanlon insists that Vatican II offered such a vision and goes on
to "recall" it, arguing that, as "the most authoritative faith-inspired blue-print
we have at our disposal," it remains our best hope of the kind of renewal we
need. Enda McDonagh develops this point about the vision of Vatican II and
discusses some ways in which the institutional and hierarchical models of
church might be transcended in practice. He notes the offence taken by laity
at "gestures and actions of dominancesubservience which characterise and
eventually corrupt pope-bishop, bishop-priest, and clergy-laity
relationships,"65 and suggests that only the involvement of the whole
believing community will help now. He also notes that such involvement "will
demand conversion of mind and heart, of relationships and activity in all
Church circles."66

In the volume edited by Littleton and Maher, Sean Ruth uses the work of
psychologist Irving Janis to highlight some of the dysfunctional aspects of
decision-making among the leadership in the Church. Ruth argues that
many of the characteristics of dysfunction, as discussed by Janis are
relevant to the Catholic Church in Ireland. These include: the illusion of
invulnerability; a belief in one's inherent morality; collective rationalization
and self-censorship.67 These and other dysfunctional tendencies are
addressed in Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context, a volume that,
although published in 2006, is highly pertinent to the current crisis.68 Taking
an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how the Catholic Church (in
the United States) can learn from the sex abuse scandal, these essays
address a host of critical issues related to the exercise of leadership at all
levels in the Church. Key among the insights is the insistence that we need
to develop an ecclesial professional ethics so as to promote for the Church's
own members "an awareness of the goods and benefits that are engaged by
the practice of critical ethical thinking in routine decision-making."69 This
volume is an excellent example of the kind of resource Richard Gula argues
for in his Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers.70

The issue of the nature of leadership and its exercise at all levels in the
Church continues to dominate much of the ecclesiological discussion of the
crisis. The inadequacy of the response of bishops, both individually and
collectively, is discussed at length. The literature is divided into two main
strands, one focusing on the creation and implementation of appropriate
procedures for the management of child protection,71 the second related to
the broader issues of episcopal accountability within a significantly reformed
structure.72 In a related context, Chinnici provides an illuminating analysis of
his experience as provincial superior of the Franciscan Friars in California,
as the order was beginning to deal with its own sexual abuse crisis. His
When Values Collide highlights the destructive effects of dominating power
for clergy and laity alike and draws on the Franciscan tradition as a resource
for a rearticulation of the nature of ministry. Other contributions to the
discussion focus on the corrosive effects of clericalism on both ordained and
lay Catholics.73

MOVING FORWARD

In June 2010 Bishop Kevin Dowling made headlines when he suggested that
"church leadership, instead of giving an impression of power, privilege and
prestige, should rather be experienced as a humble, searching ministry
together with its people."74 The clergy sexual abuse crisis has shown just
how radically the Church will need to change if such a humble, searching
ministry is to be its hallmark. What this implies, writes McDonagh, is that
"bishops and the wider Church must first be evangelised by the abused,
brought to some deeper and fuller meaning of the gospel by the abused
before they presume to lead in the evangelising of others."75 Moreover,
such responsibilities lie not only with bishops but also with clergy and laity
who colluded, whether actively or passively, with a system that allowed the
rape and abuse of children. Transparency and accountability are key.76 So
too is a commitment to a process of reform within the Church at all levels.
However, healing and forgiveness will be possible, Desmond Tutu reminds
us, only if the depth of the damage and the awfulness of the abuse are
acknowledged, and if we are prepared to deal with the real situation.77
Undertaking the work of true reconciliation is risky. It must be embarked on
in a spirit of solidarity with all who have been abused, and with a
commitment to the slow and painful work of reparation that is essential to
any reconciliation process. At this critical juncture for the Church we may
pray for a metanoia that will allow us to grasp the unique opportunity of the
crisis. In this regard Seamus Heaney's much-quoted lines have a resonance:

History says. Don't hope

On this side of the grave.

But then, once in a lifetime

The longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up.

And hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change

On the far side of revenge.

Believe that a further shore

Is reachable from here.78

[Footnote]
1 Peter Tyrrell, Founded on Fear: Letterfrack Industrial School, War and Exile (Dublin: Irish Academ
2 Mannix Flynn, Nothing to Say (Dublin: WardRiver, 1983). Mannix Flynn was also incarcerated in L
member of Aosdána, an affiliation of creative artists who are recognized to have produced a distingu

[Footnote]
3 Paddy Doyle, The God Squad (Dublin: Raven Arts, 1988).
4 Patrick Touher, Fear of the Collar: Ariane Industrial School (Dublin: O' Brien, 1991).
5 Ireland, Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (Ryan Report), 5 vols. (Dublin: Stationary Office, 2
cWldabusecommission.com/rpt/ExecSummary.php (accessed November 7, 2010); the entire report
all other URLs herein cited were accessed November 10, 2010.
6 Ryan Report, Executive Summary.
7 Sumner Twiss, "Humanities and Atrocities: Some Reflections," Journal of the Society of Christian E
of a Hundred Windows: Industrial Schools in Irish Writing," New Hibernian Review 5 (2001) 33-52.
8 Twiss, "Humanities and Atrocities" 232. This mimetic effect which turned victims into victimizers wa
School, Tralee (vol. 1, chap. 9), it notes that children were left unprotected and vulnerable to bullying
9 Dublin Archdiocese, Commission of Investigation, Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin (

[Footnote]
10 National Catholic Reporter, June 7, 1985, pp. 4-6, 19-21. Jason Berry, the principal investigator,
and the Sexual Abuse of Children (New York: Doubleday, 1992). See also A. W. Richard Sipe, Sex,
1995); and Philip Jenkins, Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis (New York: O
DeCosse, "Freedom of the Press and Catholic Social Thought: Reflections on the Sexual Abuse Sca
(2007) 865-99, provides a comprehensive summary of these initial investigations, especially in the a
11 Gordon A. Winter, Report of the Archdiocesan Commission of Enquiry into the Sexual Abuse of C
Archdiocese of St. John's, 1990).
12 Timothy D. Lytton, Holding Bishops Accountable: How Lawsuits Helped the Catholic Church Con
19.
13 Joseph P. Chinnici, When Values Collide: The Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse, and the Challeng
14 Philip F. Lawler, The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston 's Catholic Culture, new ed. with
15 Seamus Murphy, S.J., "No Cheap Grace: Reforming the Irish Church," Studies: An Irish Quarterly
running through Nicholas P. Cafardi's Before Dallas: The U.S. Bishops' Response to Clergy Sexual

[Footnote]
16 The Catholic press world-wide carried reports on the scandal in Europe. Both the National Catho
basis during 2009 and 2010. See the news archives on http://www. ncronline.org and http://www.the
commentary on the emerging scandal in Germany and for a report of a seminar on the crisis held at
May 2010. For a discussion of the crisis as it unfolded see Marianne Heimbach-Steins, "Tabubruch:
ICEP argumente 6.2 (May 2010), the newsletter of the Berliner Institut für christliche Ethik und Politi
17 See, e.g., Angela Hanley's "A Tale of Two Contexts," in Doctrine and Life 60 (May/June 2010) 17
18 John Jay College, The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Dea
Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2004) and 2006 Supplementary Report (the latter at http://www.bish
Data_Analysis.pdf).

[Footnote]
19 Chinnici, When Values Collide 15.
20 In Ireland the SAVI Report, although not focused exclusively on clergy, confirms a similar prevale
Violence in Ireland; A National Study of Irish Experiences, Beliefs and Attitudes concerning Sexual V
Loftus suggests similar prevalence rates - see John Allan Loftus, "What Have We Learned? Implicat
Sexual Abuse by Priests and the Role of the Catholic Church, ed. Thomas G. Plante (Westport, Con
21 Lytton, Holding Bishops Accountable 42-49.
22 Philip Jenkins, Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America (New H
Clergy Child Sexual Offender as Other,'" in Responding to the Ryan Report, ed. Tony Flannery, C.S
23 Keenan, ""Them and Us'" 191. See also John E. B. Meyers, Child Protection in America Past, Pre
historical analysis of changing attitudes toward child neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse, from

[Footnote]
24 See also Rafael Prada, "Abuso sexual infantil," in Studia moralia 44 (2006) 377-93.
25 See Keenan, '"Them and Us'"; and Jennifer A. Talion and Karen J. Terry, "Analyzing Paraphilic A
Abused Minors," Criminal Justice and Behavior 35 (2008) 615-28.
26 Tom Inglis, "How Ireland Became an International Disgrace," Irish Times, May 30, 2009.
[Footnote]
27 The description of St. Joseph's Industrial School, Tralee, Co. Kerry, given by a former Christian B
quoted at Executive Summary 4.
28 Letter from Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, substitute Papal Secretary of State to the Secre
presented to Pope Pius XII during the Holy Year 1950, Irish Catholic Directory (1952) 652-53; quote
under Review," in The Dublin/Murphy Report: A Watershed for Irish Catholicism?, ed. John Littleton
29 Murphy Report 1:15.

[Footnote]
30 Sean Fagan, "The Abuse and Our Bad Theology," in Responding to the Ryan Report 14-24.
31 In ibid., see Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., "Come to Me All You Who Labour" 17-28; Andrew Madden,
32 In Responding to the Ryan Report, see Sean O' Connaill, "The Disgracing of Catholic Monarchism
33 In Responding to the Ryan Report, see Enda McDonagh, "The Murphy and Ryan Reports: Betwe
Abuse: Culture, Leadership and Change" 102-12.
34 In Dublin/Murphy Report, see Patrick McCafferty, "Jesus the Risen Victim: A Response to the Mu
Torn Garments - Beginning the Discussion about Forgiveness and Healing" 121-31.

[Footnote]
35 Issued March 19, 2010, www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/ documents/hf _be
36 Bernard Treacy, O.P., "Learning with Pope Benedict," Doctrine and Life 60.5 (May- June, 2010) 2
37 Benedict XVI, Pastoral Letter no. 4.
38 See Treacy, "Learning with Pope Benedict." In the same issue of Doctrine and Life, see Bishop M
"Surprises in Pope Benedict's Letter" 10-16, where he calls this part of the analysis "defective."
39 Treacy, "Learning with Pope Benedict" 2.
40 Aherne calls aspects of the analysis of the way forward "embarrassing and unfortunate" ("Surpris

[Footnote]
41 Dermot Lane, "First Thoughts on the Murphy Report," Furrow 61 (2010) 9-14, at 12.
42 Fr. Harry Bohan, cited in Garry O' Sullivan, "Quo Vadisl The Road to Rome," in Dublin/Murphy R
43 For reflections on the earlier stages of the crisis, both in Ireland and internationally, see, e.g., Joh
Church, ed. Julian Filochowski and Peter Stanford (London: Darton, Longman, & Todd, 2005) 136-4
and Renewal, ed. Lisa Sowie Cahill, John Garvey, and T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., (New York: Herder &
44 James F. Keenan, SJ., "Ethics and the Crisis in the Church," Theological Studies 66 (2005) 117-3
68 (2007) 113-31; and "Contemporary Contributions to Sexual Ethics," Theological Studies 71 (2010
45 Gerry O' Hanlon, "The Murphy Report- A Response," Furrow 61 (2010) 82-91.
46 Ibid. On the issue of the reception of recent papal teaching on sexuality see also Linda Hogan, "M
Papacy since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor, in James Corkery and Thomas Worces

[Footnote]
47 I am grateful to Thiel for providing me her manuscript; it will be published as "Abus sexuels sur m
responsabilité de l'Église," Revue ET-Studies 3 (June 2011).
48 See the report at http://www.kirkensite.de. See also Marianne-Heimbach Steins, "Macht-Missbrau
katholischen Kirche," Soziale Passagen 2 (2010) 227-40.
49 Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the S
2008 edition carries a foreword by Donald Cozzens.
50 Tony Flannery, CSs. R., "Some Ideas on a New Approach to Catholic Sexual Teaching, in Respo
51 See Marian Machinek, M.S.F., "Die menschliche Leiblichkeit als Gegenstand bioethischer Kontro
S.J., and John Gavin, S.J., eds., John Paul II on the Body: Human, Eucharistie, Ecclesial; Festschrif
and the discussion in Keenan, "Contemporary Contributions to Sexual Ethics."

[Footnote]
52 See Sipe, Sex, Priests, and Power; Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse
Robinson, Confronting Power and Sex. For an alternative analysis of the role celibacy plays in the c
Reform, and the Future of the Church (New York: Basic, 2003).
53 Brendan Callaghan, "On Scandal and Scandals: The Psychology of Clerical Pedophilia," in Studi
54 Revue d'éthique et de théologie moral 259 (June 2010) 6-10.
55 Margret Farley, "Celibacy under the Sign of the Cross," in Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church
Remedies for a Church in Crisis," in ibid. 183-95. See also John Garvey, "Celibacy and the Current C
56 Tina Beattie "The Catholic Church's Scandal: Modern Crisis, Ancient Roots," published April 14,
80 % 99s-abuse-scandal-modern-crisis-ancient-roots.
57 Joe Rigert, An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse by Irish Priests Helped Cripple the Catholic Church

[Footnote]
58 Beattie, Catholic Church's Scandal." See also Mary T. Malone, "And, of Course, Women," Doctrin
59 The references in the literature are too frequent to cite; see the Ryan Report, vols. 1, 2, and 3.
60 The Ryan Report deals with eight industrial schools run by orders of religious women: the Sisters
that, although emotional and physical abuse was endemic in some schools, in the main the regimes
"godfathers" was frequently reported, as was what would now be regarded as sadomasochistic treat
religious sister was dealt with in the Irish courts. She was convicted but later acquitted.

[Footnote]
61 Linda Hogan, "Occupying a Precarious Position: Women in Culture and Church in Ireland," in Ne
(Dublin: Columba, 1999) 140-49, at 149; reprinted in The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, Vol. IV
Cork University with Field Day, 2002) 680-86.
62 See Brendan McConvery, C.Ss.R., "The Shaping of Irish Religious Life," in Responding to the Ry
and Fainche Ryan, "? Lingering Shame,'" in ibid. 148-61.
63 McConvery, "Shaping of Irish Religious Life" 29.

[Footnote]
64 O'Hanlon "Future of the Catholic Church" 289.
65 McDonagh, "The Murphy and Ryan Reports: Between Evangelising and Priesthood," in Dublin/M
66 Ibid. 119.
67 Sean Ruth "Responding to Abuse: Culture Leadership and Change in Dublin/ Murphy Report 102
68 Jean M. Bartunek, Mary Ann Hinsdale, and James F. Keenan, eds., Church Ethics and Its Organ
Church (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006).

[Footnote]
69 James F. Keenan, "Toward an Ecclesial Professional Ethics," in Church Ethics and Organizationa
Ethics, and the Moral Rights of Priests," in Moral Theology for the TwentyFirst Century: Essays in C
Mannion (London: T. & T. Clark, 2008) 204-19.
70 New York: Paulist, 2010.
71 See, e.g., Eugene Duffy, "Presbyteral Collegiality: Precedents and Horizons," Jurist 69 (2009) 11
Asian Horizons: Dharmaram Journal of Theology 4 (June 2010) 179-91; and Charles G. Renati, "Pre
Cases," Jurist 67 (2007) 503-19. See also Nicholas P. Cafardi, Before Dallas; Archbishop Rembert G
Eerdmans, 2009), reflects on the evolution of these procedures; see esp. 347-65.
72 See, e.g., Donald Cozzens, "Culture That Corrodes," in Dublin/Murphy Report 144-47; McDonag
Catholic Church"; and Robinson, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church.
73 See Thiel, unpublished manuscript (see above, n. 47); Ryan, '"A Lingering Shame'"; McDonagh,
Catholic Church." See also David Polidano "Towards a More Democratised Church," Melita theologi

[Footnote]
74 Kevin Dowling, "Catholic Social Teaching Finds Church Leadership Lacking," National Catholic R
teaching-finds-church-leadership-lacking.
75 McDonagh, "Between Evangelising and the Priesthood" 113.
76 See Baroness Nuala O'Loan, "Transparency, Accountability and the Exercise of Power in the Ch
77 Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time (London: Ebury, 2004) 55, cite
78 Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy (New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 1991) 77.

[Author Affiliation]
LINDA HOGAN received her Ph.D. from Trinity College, Dublin, where she is professor of ecumenic
feminist theological ethics, and human rights, she has recently published: "Mixed Reception: Paul VI
Italian Prince to Universal Pastor, ed. James Corkery and Thomas Worcester (2010); she has also e
Applied Ethics in a World Church (2008). In progress is a work on the relationship between human r