Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between organizational characteristics and their relationship to whistleblowing in the Catholic Church. It aims to examine the role of ethical climate and wrongdoing characteristics as underlying mechanisms of whistleblowing. It offers a revised definition of whistleblowing, a comprehensive interdisciplinary literature review based on the major components of the definition, a conceptual model of whistleblowing, and an application of the model to compare reactions to the clergy sexual abuse and the financial misconduct scandals in the Catholic Church. The paper suggests that members of an ethical organization such as the Roman Catholic Church observing wrongdoing are more likely to stay silent when the wrong can seriously threaten the organization’s core ideals (e.g., clergy abuse). Conversely, they will be more likely to blow the whistle when the wrongdoing is less connected to the identity of the organization (e.g., financial misconduct). The paper contributes to the normative and the empirical literature on whistleblowing, sexual harassment, and financial misconduct in the Catholic Church.
Published Version
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