Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal

In the late 20th century, and especially at the turn of the 21st, the Catholic Church in several countries was confronted with a series of allegations concerning sexual abuse of children under the legal age of consent ¹ by Catholic clergy and religious.

Threefold allegations

The allegations concerned:

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:1. The sexual abuse by some religious and secular clergy of children with whom they had contact in the community;

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:2. The sexual abuse of children in some religious-run houses, orphanages and schools, by both clergy and laity;

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:3. The policy of Catholic clergy in dealing with the abuse, namely a failure to report what were criminal acts to the local police, and efforts to pressure the victims, their families and independent witnesses into not reporting the incidents to civil authorities. Canon law (internal church law) was often given priority over secular criminal law, an action which led some Catholic Church leaders to be accused of "perverting the course of justice", itself a criminal act. (Note: the fight between Church Law and Civil Law's jurisdiction over the clergy is a centuries-old political struggle.)

Related Topics:
Canon law - Criminal law

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While not every allegation stood up to scrutiny, some did, resulting in the criminal prosecution of those who engaged in the acts. Senior church leaders, including the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Law (USA) and Bishop Brendan Comiskey of Ferns (Ireland) resigned over their mishandling of cases in their dioceses and in particular their failure to report incidents to police. In the aftermath, some national hierarchies introduced new rules of childcare and in the reporting of sex abuse allegations. Nonetheless, a few dioceses experienced a drop in numbers of Catholics attending weekly Mass.

Related Topics:
The Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Law - USA - Brendan Comiskey - Ireland - Mass

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