The loudest voices were poised last week when researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice finally released their much anticipated investigation examining the causes and context of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Despite the fact -- and I stress the word fact -- that the study was independent, conducted by non-Catholic experts in criminal justice and behavior, many of those interviewed claimed that Catholic bishops rigged the findings.
As someone who consulted on the study, it is my professional opinion that it offers a comprehensive analysis of the problem, and it is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about clergy sexual abuse.
The report examines the Catholic Church's organizational responses to abuse claims over the past half century. It concludes that U.S. Bishops were generally well-informed about the problem of clergy abuse by the mid-1980s. It also clearly states that while some bishops implemented effective policies and procedures, others clearly were focused on the concerns of the priest offender rather than those of the victim.
The study also shows that the vast majority of abuse cases occurred between the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s. Ninety-four percent of all cases happened before 1990 and 70 percent of offenders were ordained before 1970. Claims being made that more cases will come out from the more recent past once victims reach the age when they feel compelled to talk are simply not true. There have been plenty of incentives for coming out in recent years and the data from other sources confirms that we have most of the reports now.
Another false claim being made is that other organizations -- the Boy Scouts, public schools, Protestant and other faith congregations -- don't have this problem because they deal with it when it happens. Again, data shows that the level and type of abuse in the Catholic Church is consistent with other large organizations with men who had unlimited access to children during this time frame.
Let's also be very clear that the report found that the vast majority of clergy sex offenders are not pedophiles, but rather situational generalists violating whomever they had access to and not seeking out young pre-pubescent children of either gender. They violated whoever was available to them at the time.
No causative relationship between celibacy or homosexuality and clergy sex offenders can be made. Being celibate or being gay didn't increase the risk of violating children. Continuing to blame homosexual men or celibacy is clearly misguided based on these findings.
The Catholic Church has done much to prevent child abuse from happening today. There are policies and procedures such as safe environment training for all employees and volunteers, yearly Church audits from independent auditing firms to ensure that child safety policies and procedures are followed, and zero tolerance for any offending behavior among clergy or other church employees.
But more certainly needs to be done in terms of organizational oversight, accountability, responsibility, and transparency. And without accountability at the Bishop level and above, problems can certainly emerge, as we have seen recently in Philadelphia. Policies and procedures must be airtight, and leaders must ensure that they are followed by everyone. We do not, as some suggest, need an overhaul of the Church leadership.
I implore the media and public to read this report thoroughly, as it contains the very best available research data and best practices in clinical treatment, evaluation, prevention, and science to guide our thoughts and actions. Responsible use of quality research science, education, and best practices will keep children safe, not opinion and emotional hysteria.
Thomas G. Plante, PhD, ABPP is professor of psychology and director of the spirituality and health institute at Santa Clara University and author of several books and many articles on clergy sexual abuse.
Catholic sex abuse cases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boston Globe / Spotlight / Abuse in the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Cases News - The New York Times
Catholic Church sex abuse: Study blames free-love of the 1960s ...
The Scandal is the fact that THE ENTIRE HEIRARCHY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - FROM THE POPE HIMSELF ON DOWN - ACTIVELY PROTECTED, AIDED, ABETTED AND ENABLED PEDOPHILES TO COMMIT THEIR CRIMES!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS THEIR OFFICIAL POLICY TO DO SO!
They are just as guilty of these offenses as the criminals themselves and should all be jailed. When I see the Pope and every Cardinal, Bishop and Priest who had a hand in this in handcuffs, then justice will be done.
Blaming the "culture" of the 6-'s
Just another example of religious hypocrisy.
Sadly, some are not "interested in learning more about clergy sexual abuse" as they are in pursuing the destruction of the Catholic Church and those in it; guilty or innocent. The report presents the most research done on this issue for a single organization. We will not see or hear about any such research done of this magnitude for other religions, denominations, school systems, sports teams, or organizations involving children.
While child abuse is a serious issue for the Catholic Church and all organizations, it's simply more popular to bash the Catholic Church over any other, regardless of the facts.
I did like the study's comparison of the bishop's handling of clergy forcing sex on minors with police administration handling of police brutality. The basic conclusion is the same: Self-policing doesn't work! Only when those in charge and when fellow peers in a profession also see consequences for "failure to report", will we begin to put a dent not just in criminal behavior, but in criminal collusion. Also, where there is a duty to report, then those who follow the law and report will not have to fear (or at least will fear less) a retaliatory suit for slander or defamation of character. Any of the challenges of a profession - isolation, work load, inadequate preparation - may lead to deviance just not necessarily criminal behavior.
- you say the study was "independent", but it was done by people like you who are clearly Catholic priest apologists
- you neglect to mention that the study CHANGED THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD pedophilia so that so that it only included children under 10 years old instead of children under 13 years old, which is the value that the American Psychiatric Association uses. This made the number of pedophile cases drop to 22% instead of the 73% that it would have been if you used the standard cut off age of 13
- some priests are finally being honest about pedophilia in the Catholic church, like Bishop Vangheluwe of Belgium, who admitted in February 2011 he had sex with his NEPHEW from age 5-18, then he had sex with the other nephew. He said it was "no big deal".
- when the same John Jay group did a study in 2002, they said that only 4% of priests were pedophiles. They used a clever statistical lie. They included priests that were only in the priesthood for a year or two. If they included priests that were there for the entire time of the study, the number of pedophile priests jumps to a WHOPPING 10%
Fact: Catholic priests and Catholic apologists like yourself think child rape is no big deal.
Opinion: Parents who like their children should keep their children away from Catholic
If the "Church" was serious about addressing their priests sexually abusing their parishioners they'd send him back. Until then they're harboring a criminal who knowingly allowed one of his subordinates destroy children's lives. They've abdicated their position as a moral authority, I want to hear nothing more until there's some serious defrocking going on. They can start at the top and work their way down.
I was raped and abused by a priest when I was 12 until the abuser was caught by another parent. The bishop merely transferred the abuser to a small town with an elementary school. To this day the diocese denies the abuse happened. How can the John Jay Report be accurate if the bishops are covering up and withholding information?
This didn't just happen in my diocese but every diocese in the country. The covering up of abuse by the bishops permitted the continued abuse of thousands of children by priests who should have been removed and jailed.
And what about those who suffer alone and have not come forward? It has been reported that there are up to ten victims for every victim who comes forward. Are those numbers factored in the report?
The John Jay Report absolves the bishops of any responsibility. The civil grand jury in Philadelphia exposed the dioceses' continued coverup. According to civil grand jury, children were not protected and the church hierarchy was engaged in systematic coverup.
Days ago we find that Bishop Finn of Kansas City is covering for priest taking pictures of naked little girls. For decades, from Boston to LA the bishops have been complicit in the coverup of abuse and complicity in the continued abuse of thousands.
Until those bishops, complicit in abuse and covering up abuse, are jailed no child is safe.
Don't let the church get away with another coverup.
Dr. Plante also says that the study offers a comprehensive analysis of the problem. And yet ALL the data supplied for the study came from the bishops themselves. Diocesan files have NEVER been opened to researchers. All that we know about the abuse crisis, we know only from data the bishops have yielded reluctantly, always under threat of legal or criminal action.
The skepticism of many of us American Catholics about this or any report dependent on the bishops' data will not go away until we have some assurance we're receiving accurate and comprehensive information about this problem.