(The Catholic Herald).
Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies has released what is being described as the first study into how the clerical child sexual abuse crisis has impacted “the whole Catholic community” in England and Wales.
The Cross of the Moment report is based on four years of research and explores the ecclesial and cultural implications of the child abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It illustrates how the abuse crisis has been experienced by different groups within the Church, most painfully by victims of abuse and their families, but also by others effected more indirectly, such as lay people, priests, deacons, bishops, religious communities and others.
The report suggests that “aspects of the culture and practices of the Catholic Church are implicated in how clerical child sexual abuse has happened”. These aspects of Catholic culture explored in the report include clericalism and the lack of practical structures of accountability. The report also highlights how the response of the Church has often failed, causing further pain and harm, which victims describe as “secondary abuse”.