Shame and scandal: Clinical and Canon Law perspectives on the crisis in the priesthood

Kochansky, Gerald E.; Herrmann, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.01.010

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In other institutional settings (Monteith et al, 2016; Smith & Freyd, 2013), including the Catholic Church findings in this study, supporting cover-ups and misinformation was one of less frequently referenced themes of IB (ranked fourth out of five). Although previous research into the Catholic Church’s response to abuse has indicated their willingness to engage in cover-ups and “passing the trash” to protect the institution and keep information out of the realm of public knowledge (Kochansky & Herrmann, 2004; Spraitz & Bowen, 2016; Wurtele, 2012, p. 2445), this was not as commonly referenced as a wider theme of IB in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

Kelly

2024

Criminal Justice and Behavior

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Sexual abuse oftentimes occurs in institutional settings involving a power imbalance, including churches, sports, schools, and workplaces. Abuse in the Catholic Church was a reoccurring media fixture beginning in 2002 but continues to be a prominent feature even today. On September 30, 2021, The Athletic published an article documenting a coach’s sexual coercion, emotional and verbal abuse, and retaliation, exposing a toxic league culture that failed to protect its players. Negative outcomes for assault survivors can be exacerbated when institutions fail to prevent or respond appropriately to sexual assault, a phenomenon known as institutional betrayal. Using institutional betrayal theory as a context for understanding experiences, this paper presents an exploratory analysis of abuse and misconduct experiences from two separate institutions: the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Catholic Church. This discussion offers insight into how the various dimensions of institutional betrayal appear differently in distinctive institutional settings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

Kelly

2024

Criminal Justice and Behavior

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“…For in the logic of canon law, a violation of celibacy mostly remains a personal matter of conscience for a priest as long as it does not become a public scandal. For if "the act is not known to others (and therefore, ipso facto is not scandalous), these facts weigh against imposing any canonically penal consequences" (Kochansky and Herrmann 2004). That means, as long as a priest hides his fatherhood, it usually has little consequences for him.…”

Section: Burden Shiftingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Abuse in the Context of Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

Reisinger

2022

Religions

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In a significant number of cases, clerical sex offenders impregnate their victims and force them into hiding, abortion, or adoption. This phenomenon is referred to in this paper as reproductive abuse. Clearly, most victims of reproductive abuse are adults, but even among minor victims of clerical child abuse, between 1 and 10 percent may have experienced reproductive abuse. On the basis of pertinent studies, this paper explores archival material on several dozen allegations of reproductive abuse in the context of clergy sexual abuse of minors in the US Catholic Church. Besides some tentative estimates of the general frequency of the phenomenon, this paper offers a distinction of three different types of reproductive abuse and an analysis of the interplay of clericalist and secular misogyny, which appears to be largely responsible for the silencing of victims as well as for the impunity of perpetrators and leads to the invisibility of this phenomenon, despite the high importance attributed to reproductive issues in the Catholic context.

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“…Several articles have been written on the potential root causes and development of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church (e.g., Doyle, 2006;Frawley-O'Dea, 2004;Kochansky & Herrmann, 2004;Saradjian & Nobus, 2003) as well as the potential harm caused to the abused children (e.g., Doyle, 2003;McLaughlin, 1994). To this point, however, empirical data on clerics who have sexually abused children have been lacking.…”

Section: Sexual Abuse Of Children In the Catholic Churchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeat Offending, Victim Gender, and Extent of Victim Relationship in Catholic Church Sexual Abusers

Perillo

Mercado

Terry

2008

Criminal Justice and Behavior

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Despite wide reports of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, empirical data on Catholic Church sexual abuse have not been readily available. The present study examines factors associated with sex-offender risk assessment along three criteria (repeat offending, victim gender, and victim relationship) on a sample of sexual abusers in the Catholic Church. Data from 4,392 priests with documented allegations of child sexual abuse were used. Logistic regression analysis resulted in significant predictive models for all comparisons. Factors consistently found to be significant predictors across comparisons included victim age, cleric age, all male victims, and history of victimization. Results suggest that risk predictors for Catholic Church sexual abusers are similar to those used in the general sex-offender population.

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Shame and scandal: Clinical and Canon Law perspectives on the crisis in the priesthood

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Institutional Betrayal in the National Women’s Soccer League and the Catholic Church

Reproductive Abuse in the Context of Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

Repeat Offending, Victim Gender, and Extent of Victim Relationship in Catholic Church Sexual Abusers

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