Institutionalized Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church
A discussion of the 1970s-1980s sexual abuse of boys by Catholic priests & brothers in Newfoundland focuses on the final report (Winter, Gordon, et al, 1990) of the Archdiocesan Commission of Enquiry. Definitions of child sexual abuse are examined, along with common predisposing factors & the relationship between clerical celibacy & child sex abuse. Overtones of homophobia are noted in the commission report, along with confusion between child sex abuse & consensual homosexual encounters. Outrage of the local Catholic community at the church's failure to respond to the allegations in a timely manner is described, maintaining that the church's traditional ecclesiastical response centered on preventing scandal. Probable misunderstandings of the effects of the abuse on the victims are examined, suggesting that they are partly responsible for the lack of empathy on the part of church officials. Suggestions are made for how the church can respond more responsibly to abuse allegations, & the need to look into the structural roots of child sex abuse in the institutional framework of the Catholic Church is discussed. 39 References. J. Lindroth