Conflict in the Churches

Abstract

Abstract The “abuse crisis” was not inevitable. The individual cases could have been interpreted in a manner more sympathetic to the institutional churches, and the media need not have accepted the extremely high estimates of clerical misconduct advanced by certain authorities. The atmosphere of belief and acceptance had to some extent been created by the general concern over child abuse during the previous decade, but specific concerns about the churches were enhanced by the vigorous debates then in progress within the religious bodies themselves, and especially the Catholic church. In the furor over abuse by Catholic clergy, several major themes emerged recurrently: the authoritarian nature of the church and its hierarchy; the special privileges accorded to priests; the apparent neglect of the interests of children and women; and an ambiguous and hypocritical attitude toward sexuality. As Jeffrey Anderson argued, “The real scandal is not that there’s exploitation by clergy. It’s the mendacity, the duplicity, the complicity, the ignorance and the indifference of the hierarchy.”‘ All these issues and allegations had been under intense discussion within Catholic circles for two decades before the Gauthe case, from which they now acquired an urgent focus. At precisely the time that the abuse cases came to light, the Catholic church was embroiled in a series of bitter struggles about such matters as the balance of lay and clerical power in the church, the power of the hierarchy and the special role of the clergy, and gender concerns.