Sexual Abuse by Clergy
Premature Forgiveness
Apr 24, 2014 — Categories: Current Events, Clergy Ethics, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyDear Pope Francis: I want to commend you for owning the painful fact of sexual abuse of children by priests as part of your Good Friday comments. Lent is surely the season for such a public acknowledgement. You named the reality of the abuse; you asserted the necessity of stringent sanctions; you acknowledged the profound vulnerability of children. All of this suggests that you are serious about acting to rectify the harm that has been done, to bring justice where there has been injustice, and to bring healing where brokenness remains.
How Many? How Long?
Jul 08, 2015 — Categories: Current Events, Sexual Violence, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThis might sound like the start of a bad joke: What do a theologian (John Howard Yoder) and a comedian (Bill Cosby) have in common? More than you might imagine—and I’m not laughing. Both were major figures in their fields. Both were widely regarded and respected, even adored by many. Both were powerful men with a sense of entitlement. With impunity, both sexually abused scores of young women who trusted them for years. Both were shielded by their peers and colleagues from any meaningful accountability.
The Work of Tikkun Olam: Repairing and Restoring the World
Dec 13, 2012 — Categories: Current Events, Jewish, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThere are two important stories this week within the Orthodox Jewish community in the U.S. The first is the conviction of Nechemya Weberman, a Hasidic Jew in Brooklyn, for sexual abuse of a child who had the courage to come forward and report him.
Dear Pope: Happy New Year
Jan 31, 2014 — Categories: Clergy Ethics & Healthy Boundaries, Current Events, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyI was encouraged in early December by your announcement that you are convening a Vatican Commission on Child Sexual Abuse to help you address the needs of victims and the structural changes that must take place in order to avoid repeating the past. This seemed like an appropriate Advent effort coinciding with the new church year and the nativity of Jesus. While this planned Vatican Commission falls somewhat short of the call by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, retired Bishop from Sydney, Australia, for a Vatican Council to address the child abuse tragedy (For Christ’s Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church...for Good), it is a step in the right direction.
Southern Baptists: Yes, but . . .
Aug 22, 2008 — Categories: Sexual Abuse by Clergy“One sexual predator in our midst is one too many,” said Morris Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee. “Sexual predators must be stopped. They must be on notice that Southern Baptists are not a harvest field for their devious deeds.” Good so far.
"No He Didn't..."
Mar 11, 2014 — Categories: Current Events, Clergy Ethics, Sexual Abuse by ClergyDear Pope Francis: Did you really say this in a recent interview? In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Francis acknowledged the “profound” wounds abuse leaves, but then added: “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution that has moved with transparency and responsibility. No one has done more. And yet the church is the only one that has been attacked.”
Guest Blog: Hope in the Research #6
Feb 18, 2021 — Categories: Sexual Abuse by Clergy, Clergy Ethics & Healthy Boundaries, MultifaithIn this blog post, Rev. James Evinger highlights some recent research trends, including the emergence of diverse frameworks for understanding sexual boundary violations within spiritual contexts and the increase in research in communities and religious contexts that have been underrepresented or ignored. Since 1995, Rev. Evinger has reviewed materials and updated the Annotated Bibliography of Clergy Sexual Abuse and Sexual Boundary Violations in Religious Communities. This huge undertaking has provided an extraordinary resource for scholars and researchers, as well as those seeking to address the needs of survivors.
Dear Pope: Deep Trouble
Oct 03, 2011 — Categories: Current Events, Clergy Ethics, Sexual Abuse by ClergyI do wish you had called me. Now you are in deep trouble. I see that human rights lawyers have filed a complaint against you with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Dear Archbishop: Please Clarify
Feb 05, 2013 — Categories: Current Events, Sexual Abuse by ClergyDear Archbishop Gomez: Kudos for doing something. In response to the release of the personnel files on clergy sexual abusers in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, you actually did something about Cardinal Roger Mahoney and Bishop Thomas Curry who oversaw the years of silence, cover-up and non-response to the reports of sexual abuse of children by priests, though of course I wish you had done it earlier.
Dear Cardinal Mahony
Feb 17, 2011 — Categories: Current Events, Sexual Violence, Sexual Abuse by ClergyI realize that you are soon to retire as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I can only assume that you are exhausted from dealing with sexual abuse by priests in your diocese for so many years and from all of the subsequent scandals. I hope that you will have time to reflect on your role in addressing this longstanding problem of betrayal by your priests.
Dear Pope: Off Track Again?
Jun 29, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Sexual Abuse by ClergyI realize it has been a bad week for you and the Vatican. First, the Belgian police raid the offices of the Belgian Council of Bishops and remove records of sexual abuse investigations. You condemn this action by the police, expressing concern for the confidentiality of victims’ records. With all due respect, is it really the victims’ records you are worried about or the accused priests’ records?
Please Proclaim from the Housetops
Aug 21, 2018 — Categories: Clergy Ethics, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by Clergy“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26-7) This is what justice looks like. We are getting a glimpse of it with the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on child sexual abuse in six Roman Catholic dioceses.
Oprah and the Jesuits
Nov 19, 2007 — Categories: Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThe Jesuits have settled a lawsuit brought by Alaska Native survivors for $50 million, the largest single settlement against a religious order. At least 110 children and youth were sexually abused from 1961 until 1987 in remote villages in Alaska by Roman Catholic priests.
Guest Blog: Pope's 'New' Approach Makes No Sense
Jun 03, 2019 — Categories: Clergy Ethics, Christian, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThis guest blog by Mary Dispenza, NW Directory of SNAP, discusses the failures of the new Vatican policy on reporting sexual abuse.
Dear Pope: It’s Me Again
Apr 19, 2010 — Categories: Current Events, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyI’m still waiting for your call, but in the meantime, I’m quite happy to provide you with a free consultation because it’s so important that you get this right. So let me suggest some fine tuning to your efforts this past week. Please pass this memo on to your PR people.
GUEST BLOG: Dancing in the Darkness
Dec 28, 2016 — Categories: Sexual Abuse by ClergyMy friend Amy doesn’t do windows. Unless she happens to be working on a computer system using Microsoft. In that case, she’s an expert, on single PC’s or corporate systems. In the course of this work, with all the fast clicking often required to solve complicated, technological issues, she’s sometimes found herself accidentally running across a whole can of worms no ethical person would dare to ignore. Amy does do doors, if need be. Even if those doors open into places where others might fear to tread.
Sometimes We See Justice Made
Jul 21, 2016 — Categories: Clergy Ethics, Child Abuse, Christian, Sexual Abuse by ClergyWhen national Protestant denominations meet, there is a lot of necessary but mundane business that goes on. But sometimes something very important occurs and it should be noted. This summer, I've received updates from two denominations that are explicitly addressing abuse by clergy at their national gatherings: The Presbyterian Church USA and the Unitarian Universalists.
“‘A Day of Reckoning and Justice’ for Abuse Victims”
Mar 29, 2011 — Categories: Current Events, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThis was the front page headline that greeted me Saturday morning in my local paper, The Seattle Times. The quote is from Clarita Vargas, 51, of Tacoma, WA, who was abused as a child at an Indian Boarding School run by the Jesuits on the Colville Reservation. She is referring to a settlement in which 500 adult survivors will receive $166.1 million from the Northwest Jesuit Order.
“I listen . . .”
Mar 13, 2012 — Categories: Current Events, Clergy Ethics, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThe Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, was recently interviewed on 60 Minutes, discussing his efforts since becoming Archbishop to address the sexual abuse of children by priests.
Time to Step Up to the Plate
Apr 08, 2011 — Categories: Current Events, Sexual Abuse by ClergyThis is the letter sent to the Seattle University community following the announcement in the press of a settlement of $166 million with over 500 survivors of sexual abuse by northwest Jesuits.
