Links to Further Reflection and Commentary on Sex Abuse in the Church

Readers may find the following articles helpful for further reflection. The opinions and facts expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of, or constitute an admission of fact by, the pastors or staff members of the Catholic parishes in Waterloo or the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

[Archives]

America Magazine
Catholic News Service
National Catholic Reporter
U.S. Catholic Magazine

[Syllabus]

Daily Theology

[Individual Articles]

Arranged chronologically by publication date

• Finding Hope for Victims of Abuse. Teresa Pitt Green. Our Sunday Visitor 05.09.24
• How Institutional Vice Contributed to the Sex Abuse Crisis. Bernard Prusak. Pope Francis Generation Podcast 02.24
• Catholic Tradition Offers Resources for Recovering Abuse Victims. Julia Feder. U.S. Catholic. 01.16.24
• Church Needs a Theology of Memory. Marcel Uwineza, SJ. La Civilta Cattolica. 08.07.23
• U.S. Bishops Annual Report 2022. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 07.14.23
• Salving the Vast Wounds That Remain from the Sexual Abuse Crisis. Daniel Philpott. Church Life Journal. 07.07.23
• What More Can You Do In the Face of the Church's Sexual Abuse Crisis? Thomas Berg. Church Life Journal. 04.04.23.
• How the Catholic Church Can Find Healing From the Sex Abuse Crisis. Daniel Philpott. 9.15.22
• Beyond Bad Apples--C;lergy Sexual Abuse As a Structural Problem. Ignatian Center. 08.16.22.
• Why We Can't Dismiss the Truama of Abuse.  Rachel Amiri. Where Peter Is. 05.07.21.
• A Lawyer Examines the McCarrick Report. Franciszek Longchamps de Berier. Church Life Journal
  12.22.20
• Parishes Must Confront Church's Legacy of Abuse. Nicholas Cafardi. U.S. Catholic. 08.14.20.
• What the Church Has Done Since the "Summer of Shame".  Colleen Dulle. America. 08.14.20.
• Church's Response to Abuse Is Stuck in the Past.  Massimo Faggioli.  LaCroix. 12.10.19
• Why "Get Over It" Isn't Enough for Abuse Victims. Phillipa Martyr.  Church Life Journal. 11.21.19
• The Phenomenon of Systematic Sexual Violation by Catholic Clerics.  Thomas Doyle. 10.07.19
• Clericalism and the Violent Sacred.  James Alison. Contribution to a symposium on clericalism at the
   Von Hugel Institute, Cambridge. 11.18.19
• The Unexpected Shape of Forgiveness.  James Alison.  Contribution to a symposium on In the
  Closet of the Vatican.  04.19.
• The Abuse Crisis as Prophecy and Passover.  Rita Ferrone.  Commonweal. 04.02.19.
• How the Clerical Right-Wing Exploits the Sexual Abuse Crisis. Gianni Valenti. Vatican Insider.
  04.02.19.
• French Theologian’s Book Provides Analysis and Remedies. Celine Hoyeau. LaCroix. 04.01.19.
• Schoolyard Bullies--Sex Abuse Should Be Blamed on Immature Men. Fr. Wm. Grimm.
  LaCroix. 03.25.19.
• Francis Must Fix Cover-up Culture Enabled by His Predecessors (Part 3 or 3). Jason Berry.
  National Catholic Reporter. 02.21.19.
• Instituional Lying at the Heart of the Problem (Part 2 of 3). Jason Berry. National Catholic
  Reporter. 02.20.19.
• Francis Inherits Decades of Abuse Cover-up (Part 1 of 3). Jason Berry. National Catholic
  Reporter. 02.19.19.
• Confronting the Church As Both Holy and Sinful. Brandon Peterson. Church Life Journal.
  02.18.19.
• Infidelity in Marriage and the Priesthood.  Richard Fitzgibbons MD.  Catholic World Report.
  02.14.19.
• Bishops Unbound--The History Behind Today's Crisis of Church Leadership.  Bronwen
   Catherine McShea.  First Things. January 2019.
• The Problem Is Abuse of Power, Not Gay Priests.  Christina Traina. New Ways Ministry.
   01.14.19.
• Historians Take the Long View on Sex Abuse Crisis.  Heidi Schlumpf.  National Catholic
   Reporter. 01.10.19
• Pope Francis's Letter to the U.S. Bishops. 01.01.19
• Where Is Jesus in the Midst of the Sex Abuse Crisis?  Interview with Fr. Thomas Berg. 
   Catholic News Agency. December 24, 2018.
• The Four Waves of the U.S. Catholic Abuse Crisis.  Kim Daniels.  Church Life Journal.
   December 18, 2018.
• Homosexuality Is Not a Contributing Factor to Sex Abuse. Thomas G. Plante.  America. 
   October 22, 2018.
• Eight Lessons to Help Us Move Forward. John Carr. America. Sept. 25, 2018.
• Why I Cannot Even Think of Leaving the Church.  Massimo Faggioli.  LaCroix.  Sept. 24, 2018.
• How We Might Express Our Anger in Prayer.  Fr. Jim Sabak OFM. PrayTell Blog. Sept. 24, 2018.
• Why I Can't Blame Catholics Who Walk Away. Rebecca Bratten Weis. U.S. Catholic. Sept. 20,
  2018.
• Church needs deeper, theological changes. Sr. Joan Chittister. Natioanl Catholic Reporter.
   Sept. 20, 2018.
• U.S. bishops plan third-party reporting system. Julie Asher. Catholic News Service. Sept. 19,
   2018
   > Bishops' official statement. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Sept. 19. 2018.
• Guidelines for an Appropriate Response to the Sex Abuse Crisis.  John Cavadini. Church
   Life Journal. Sept. 17, 2018.
• What the Church Has Learned from the Sex Abuse Crisis.  Interview with Fr. Hans Zollner SJ. 
   Catholic Weekly. September 7, 2018.
• Study Indicates a Decline in Abuse Reports.  Mark Gray.  America. Sept. 6, 2018.
• Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Is a Solvable Problem.  Thomas G. Plante. Psychology Today. 
   Sept. 5, 2018.
• The True, the False and the Blurry in Vigano's Accusations.  Nicholas Senseze.  LaCroix. 
   September 3, 2018.
• Scandal May Shatter the Myth That Priests Are Special.  Fr. William Grimm.  LaCroix.  August
   28, 2018
• "I Stay Catholic Because I Believe the Church Is Better Than It Shows".  Pat Perriello.
   National Catholic Reporter.  August 28, 2018.
• Review Board Says Genuine Change Is Necessary In Clerical Culture. Mark Pattison.
   Catholic News Service. August 28, 2018.
   > Text of the National Review Board's Statement.  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. August
   28, 2018.
• Clericalism, Conversion and Church Reform.  B. Kevin Brown. Daily Theology.  August 28,
   2018.
• Q&A/Sex Abuse Crisis. Bishop Robert Barron. Word on Fire/Video. August 28, 2018.
• Is the Church Capable of Fixing Itself?  Kevin Clarke. U.S. Catholic. August 23, 2018.
• Why I'm Not Leaving the Catholic Church.  John Gehring. National Catholic Reporter. August 24,
   2018.
• A Sociologist Looks at the Sex Abuse Crisis. Interview with Fr. Paul Sullins.  MercatorNet.
   August 24, 2018.
• We Can Only Move Forward When We Name the Evil of Clericalism.  Fr. Thomas Rosica.
   National Catholic Reporter.  August 23, 2018.
• We Have to Have Deeper Reforms in the Church.  Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. National
   Catholic Reporter.  August 23, 2018.
• Abuse Crisis Highlights Issues Trent Left Unfinished.  Massimo Faggioli.  Commonweal.
  August 23, 2018.
• Sexual Abuse and the Culture of Clericalism.  Jason Blakely.  America.  August 23, 2018.
• Separating Facts About Clergy Sex Abuse from Fiction.  Thomas G. Plante. Psychology Today.
   August 23, 2018.
• Church Sex Abuse Crisis--What You Need to Know.  Staff. America. August 22, 2018
• Why Do Some Catholics Stay?  Fr. Terrance Klein. America. August 22, 2018.
• Dear Brother Bishops, the Time for Closed Doors Is Over.  Bishop Robert Lynch. America.
   August 22, 2018.
• Clericalism--the Culture That Enables Abuse and Insists on Hiding It.  Cindy Wooden.
   Catholic News Service. August 22, 2018.
• Four Things the Church Must Do to Respond to Sex Abuse.  Thomas Reese SJ. Religion
   News Service. August 21, 2018.
• Pope Francis's Letter on Abuse Was Not Enough.  We Need Action.  Christopher Altieri.
   Catholic Herald. August 21, 2018.
• The Future Requires Reform of Our Teaching on Sexuality.  Fr. Richard Rohr OFM. Center for
   Action and Contemplation. August 20, 2018.
• Abuse Victims' Outcry More Powerful Than Efforts to Silence Them.  Pope Francis.  Catholic
   News Service. August 20, 2018.
• Cardinal McCarrick Scandal Inflames Debate Over Gay Priests.  David Crary. Associated
   Press. August 20, 2018.
• Church Should End the False Dichotomy Between Holiness and Sin.  Pedro Gabriel. Where
   Peter Is. August 20, 2018.
• Five Things You Need to Know About Sexual Abuse in the Church.  Nicholas Cafardi. U.S.
   Catholic.
• For Catholics, Gradual Reform Is No Longer An Option. Kathleen Sprows Cummings.  The New
   York Times.  August 17, 2018.
• A Crisis That Is Far From Over--How the Church Can Respond to Sexual Abuse.  Editors.
   America. August 17, 2018.
• The Sexual Abuse Problem in the Catholic Church Won't Go Away.  The Economist. August
   16, 2018.
• Timeline--Church's Response to Sex Abuse Shows Progress, but Questions Remain. 
   Catholic News Service.  August 16, 2018.
• An Open Letter to My Roman Catholic Friends.  Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin. Religion News Service.
   August 16, 2018.
• We Must Place Our Hope Not With Power and Authority But With Abuse Survivors.  Sam
   Sawyer SJ. America. August 16, 2018.
• Where Is Jesus in the Midst of the Church's Sex Abuse Crisis?  Interview with Fr. Thomas
   Berg. Catholic News Agency. August 16, 2018.
• What Can I Say to My Kids About Why We're Still Catholic? Kerry Weber. America. August 15,
   2018.
• Why Should We Stay?  Teresa Tomeo.  Our Sunday Visitor. August 15, 2018.
• A Failing Episcopal Establishment.  R.R. Reno. First Things.  August 15, 2018.
• What Is to Be Our Response?  Jana Bennett. Catholic Moral Theology. August 15, 2018.
• Will Pennsylvania Be the Wake-Up Call We Finally Heed?  Sherry Antonetti. National Catholic
   Register. August 15, 2018.
• Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report--A Reminder of the Toll of Failure.  Matthew Bunson.
   National Catholic Register. August 15, 2018.
• Pennsylvania Report Documents Over 1,000 Victims of Priest Abuse.  Michael O'Loughlin.
   America. August 14, 2018.
• Text of Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report
• The Root Cause May Be the Devil, But the Immediate Cause Is Clericalism.  Timothy
   O'Malley. Church Life Journal. August 10, 2018.
• Scandal In the Church--God Made Room for Sinners As Well As Saints.  Aleteia. August 10,
   2018.
• Vatican Expert--Crisis is a Call to New Vision of Priesthood, Accountability.  Catholic News
   Service. August 9, 2018.
• Why Stay Catholic In Times Like These?  Sherry Antonetti. National Catholic Register. August 7,
   2018.
• We Have Nothing to Fear From the Truth.  Interview with Phillip Lawler.  Catholic World Report.
   August 6, 2018.
• Homosexuality Among the Clergy--Caught In the Trap of Dishonesty. James Alison. The
   Tablet. August 4 and 11, 2018.
• Only An Attitude of Atonement Can Lead to Healing and Reconciliation.  Patrick McGuire.
   Trinity Washington University.  July 27, 2018.
• The Protection of Minors--Is the Church Doing Everything It Can?  Interview with Fr. Hans
   Zollner. MercatorNet. March 23, 2018.
• The Spiritual Wounds of Sexual Abuse.  Hans Zollner SJ. LaCivilta Cattolica. January 18, 2018.
• Tracing the Causes of Sex Abuse in the Church.  James Martin SJ. America. December 20,
   2017.
• Interview with Kathleen McChesney on Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy.  Mary Ann Walsh.
   America. November 4, 2014.
• Vatican's Actions Show Progress on Sex Abuse. The Editors. National Catholic Reporter.
   October 6, 2014.
• 12 Years Later--Is There Any End in Sight? Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor. April 9, 2014.
• Next Steps for Addressing Priestly Abuse.  Fr. Charles Murray. The Catholic Thing. January 23,
   2014.
• A Human Rights Approach to Sexual Abuse in the Church. Gerard Webster/ Catalyst for
   Renewal lecture. Nov. 24, 2013:
• Clergy Sexual Abuse--the View from Rome and Washington. Joan Frawley Desmond.  The
   National Catholic Register. Nov. 5, 2013.
• Child Sexual Abuse and the Churches--A Moral Failure? Patrick Parkinson. 2013 Smith
   Lecture.
• Church’s chief prosecutor offers guidelines for moving beyond sex abuse scandal. Fr.
   Thomas Reese Sj. National Catholic Reporter. Oct. 25, 2013.
• Responding to Clericalism and Sex Abuse. Scott Appleby. U.S. Catholic. October 2012.
• Bishops Still Stonewall on Sex Abuse.  David Gibson. The Wall Street Journal. June 8, 2012.
• Ten Years After Reforms, What Has Changed? David Gibson.  Religion News Service, June 6,
   2012.
• How Effective Are Lay Review Boards? Bob Smietana. U.S. Catholic, June 2012.
• Interview with Nicholas Cafardi, charter member of the National Review Board. U.S. Catholic,
   June 2012.
• Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse--Context and Causes. A.W. Richard Sipe.  Address at Santa
   Clara University, May 11, 2012.
• The Unfinished Work--What Remains to Be Done. Thomas J. Reese SJ. America. May 11, 2012.
• Chosen People--On Abuse and Redemption. Brendan Busse SJ. The Jesuit Post, May 4, 2012.
• Repentance for Abuse and Structural Reform Will Help to Renew the Church. Fr. Brian
   Lennon. Irish Times. Feb. 28, 2012
• Cardinal O'Malley: It's Not Over Yet. Interview with John L. Allen. The National Catholic Reporter,
   Jan. 6, 2012.
• What the Church Has Learned Over the Past Ten Years. Bernard Nojadera. USCCB Media
   Blog, Dec. 28, 2011.
• The John Jay Study--What It Is and What It Isn't. Mary Gail Frawley O'Dea. National Catholic R
   Reporter/NCR Online, July 19, 2011.
• Dealing with Catholic Frustration. Tom Gibbons. BustedHalo, February 2011.
• Survivor Stories--Seven Lessons from the Sex Abuse Crisis. Diane Knight, U.S. Catholic.
   January 2011.
• Two Perspectives on the Sexual Abuse Crisis. John Allen, National Catholic Reporter/NCR
   Online, December 24, 2010.
• Seven Myths About the Catholic Church and Clergy Sexual Abuse.  David Gibson, Catholic
   Update, September 2010.
• Keep the Faith.  Retired Bishop Francis Quinn. U.S. Catholic. August 2010.
• Sticking with an Imperfect Church.  Melissa Musick Nussbaum, National Catholic Reporter. July
   20, 2010.
• Twelve Things the Bishops Have Learned from the Sex Abuse Crisis.  Bishop Blaise Cupich.
   America. May 10, 2010.
• On Scandal and Scandals--How Did We Get to This Point?  Brendan Callaghan SJ. Thinking
   Faith. April 15, 2010.
• Editorial on Vatican Radio by the Vatican's official spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi. April 9,
   2010.
• Six Points You Don’t Hear About Clergy Sexual Abuse. Dr. Thomas Plante. Psychology Today,
   March 24, 2010.
• Pastoral Letter to the People of Ireland.  Pope Benedict XVI. March 20, 2010.
• Interview with Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, "promoter of justice" in the Congregation for the Doctrine of
   the Faith, in L'Avvenire, March 13, 2010.
   http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1342484?eng=
• The Abuse Crisis, Prodigal Sons -- and Missing Mothers.  America. March 13, 2010.
• Sexual Abuse and Children: Where Are We Now? St. Anthony Messenger Magazine, January
   2010.
• A Canonical Perspective on the Sexual Abuse Crisis.  Sr. Sharon Euart. Address to the
   Catholic Theological Society of America. June 8, 2007.
• Celibacy Is Not the Problem. Andrew Greeley.  The New York Times.  March 3, 2004.
• The Abuse Scandal As a Dark Night of the Soul.  Fr. Ron Rolheiser. August 17, 2003.
• The Catholic Church and Child Sexual Abuse. America. April 22, 2002.
• St. Anthony Messenger (special issue) June 2003.
• Healing the Wound. Eugene Kennedy.  National Catholic Reporter. October 3, 2003.
• Five Misconceptions About Child Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church. Stephen Rosetti.
   America. April 22, 2002.
• The Slaughter of Innocents--Reconciliation Requires an Honest Examination of
   Conscience. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. U.S. Catholic, June 2002.
• On Carrying a Scandal Biblically. by Fr. Ron Rolheiser. June 16, 2002.
  You may also find some of Fr. Rolheiser syndicated columns helpful, even if they do not directly
  address the abuse issue. You can access past columns here.
• Beyond Crime and Punishment.  Fr. Richard Rohr.  Sojourners. July/August 2002.
• The Church At Risk.  Scott Appleby.  Address to the United States Conference of Catholic 
   Bishops.  July 13, 2002. U.S.C.C.B.
• Keeping Pedophiles Out of the Priesthood.  Melvin C. Blanchette and Gerald D. Coleman. 
   America.  April 22, 2002.
• “Answering Scandal with Personal Holiness” homily by Fr. Thomas Landry
   http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0526.html
• Fr. Jack Wintz’s “Friar Jack’s E-Inspirations” for April 8, 2002.
   www.americancatholic.org/e-news/FriarJack/fj040802.asp
• Reflection on the virtue of hope.  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Spirituality & Practice:
• Healing Your Painful Memories" by M. Elaine Dillhunt OSB
• The Hand of God. Video documentary which depicts the impact of clerical sexual abuse on one
   person and their family.  Caution: this video contains frank descriptions of sexual conduct--viewer
   discretion advised.
• For a bibliography of books about the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church go to:
   http://www.bishop-accountability.org/books/

[Last Update: 07.11.23]