ABOUT THIS BOOK

The story of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests has sent shock waves around the nation and will not fade from consciousness or the news. We ask, "How could this happen?" And then we ask, "How could the Catholic Church let this continue for so long—in seeming silence and duplicity?" Paul R. Dokecki, a community psychologist at Vanderbilt University, an active Catholic, and a former board member of the National Catholic Education Association, investigates the crisis not only with the eye of an investigative reporter, but with the analytical skills and training of a psychologist as well. Moreover, he lays the foundation for reasonable and practical reform measures.

Through the scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston as well as the earlier, if less well known but momentous, case in the Diocese of Nashville, Dokecki reports on and analyzes what is ultimately an abuse of power—not only by the clergy but by church officials. As distasteful as these instances may be, they are compelling reading, enlightened by the author's abilities to contextualize these events through the lenses of professional ethics, the human sciences, and ecclesiology. According to Dokecki, these and other instances of clergy sexual abuse reveal a systemic deficiency in the structure and the nature of the church itself, one that has prevented the church from adequately dealing with its own worst sins.

Dokecki may shine a spotlight into the church's dark corners—but he does so in the service of enlightenment, calling the church back toward the vision of Vatican II and the spirit of Pope John XXIII—toward a greater transparency, a more open and participatory governance in the church, and for a greatly expanded role for the people of God who make up the church. It is in this way, Dokecki believes, the church will be better able to keep the innocent children of the church safe from harm.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Paul R. Dokecki is a former board member of the National Catholic Education Association, and professor of psychology in Vanderbilt University's Peabody College and graduate Department of Religion.

REVIEWS

Uses three lenses to examine the sexual abuse crisis: professional ethics, human science, and theological. The treatment is clear, focused, and readable. He tells the story from the view of Nashville, where one notorious local priest triggered a wave of legal and community action, including the creation of Nashville VOTF. He relates the Nashville story to the story taking shape in Boston. There is an extensive discussion of VOTF, including Nashville VOTF, which is very valuable. Readers outside of Boston will also benefit because Dokecki's story shows how local communities everywhere can organize, focus their efforts, and promote meaningful change.

-- Voice of the Faithful Newsletter

"Dokecki chronicles the devastating delinquencies of the priest-pedophilia crisis; and he maps necessary steps the Church must take toward credibility and integrity. He takes his readers from the shadowy secrets of the chancery to a Church illumined by the wisdom of God's people. Clear prose and a clean proposal. Anyone looking for solutions to the pedophilia crisis ought to read this book."

-- Edward Vacek, SJ, professor of moral theology, Weston Jesuit School of Theology and author of Love, Human and Divine: The Heart of Christian Ethics

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IntroductionValue Analytic PerspectivePlan of the Book

1. One Clergy Sexual Abuser's StoryThe Diocesan SettingThe McKeown Story BeginsThe Nature of McKeown's Sexual AbuseThe Church RespondsMcKeown Leaves the Active PriesthoodMcKeown is Finally ArrestedThe McKeown Case Enters the Broader Social DomainVictims' Parents File Multimillion Dollar LawsuitsBlaming the Victim?Further Legal ManeuveringThe Boston Scandal Enters the Public ConsciousnessQuestions and Issues Attendent to the McKeown Case

2. Clergy Sexual Abuse in the WorldMoral Crisis or Moral Panic?The Journalistic Shot Heard Around the WorldEntering the Clergy Sexual Abuse SystemA Comparative Look at the Clergy Sexual Abuse System in Nashville and Boston

3. Professional Ethics and Clergy Sexual Abuse SystemThe Ethics of Human Development and CommunityThe Use and Abuse of Power: Professionals Having Sex with ClientsThe Third Position and the Community of PersonsHistorical Perspectives on the Third Position Theory of CommunityEmpowermentThe Institutional Church's Management of Clergy Sexual Abuse

4. Human Science Perspectives on the Clergy Sexual Abuse System The Organizational Culture of the Catholic ChurchThe Ideology of the Catholic ChurchAuthoritarianism or Authority?The Structures of the Clergy Sexual Abuse SystemPsychological Sense of Community in the Clergy Sexual Abuse SystemConclusions from Human Science Analysis of the Clergy Sexual Abuse System

5. Ecclesiological Perspectives on the Clergy Sexual Abuse System: The Context of ReformThe Church's 2002 Efforts to Reform the Clergy Sexual Abuse System: Processes and OutcomesThe Church's Understanding of Itself

6. Towards Reforms Addressing and Preventing Clergy Sexual AbuseRationale for Reforms addressing the Clergy Sexual Abuse SystemDiversity, Justice, Equality, and Participative Decision Making in the Pursuit of CommunityGranting Discretion to Church OfficialsToward the Restoration of Trust in the Church Through Democratic Reforms

Notes

References