ConclusionProspects, visions, agendas

Abstract

In setting out on the journey of research for this book the author sought to achieve an in-depth understanding of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church that would include the views of the clerical perpetrators, set against the background of the relevant reports and literature on the topic. In undertaking this task she wanted to develop a model of performance that would help conceptualize, but never justify, sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. She also wanted to understand how the clerical men made sense of their lives and how they made meaning of their sexual abuse of minors. This concluding chapter attempts to make sense of what has been discussed so far and contains the book's final theoretical reflections. It also discusses the various prospects, visions, and agendas and implications that the book's findings have in shaping future discussions and debates. It concludes with some thoughts on the role of hope and repair.