In the wearying continuum of news on clerical sex abuse, this present week as if the Cloyne Report wasn't enough for us to digest, Jesuit Fr. James Martin In America magazine has written this brilliant and thorough article here
which gives a full analysis of the American John Jay report on the sexual abuse crisis in the church by an expert called Mary Gail Frawley O'Dea.
It is a very important article.
On reading it myself it is clear that many of the conclusions from this report can equally be applied to other countries, including Ireland.
This is Fr. Martin's introduction to the article below :
"When the new John Jay report came out in May--lauded in some quarters and lambasted in others--I remember thinking, "I wonder what Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea thinks about it."
Frawley-O'Dea, a psychologist and author, is one of the country's leading experts on child abuse, and was the only psychologist invited to address the historic 2002 meeting of the U.S. bishops in Dallas.
Her book Treating the Adult Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective, co-authored in 1994, has become a classic text. In 2007, her book Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, was published; that same year co-edited volume, Predatory Priests, Silenced Victims: The Sexual Abuse Crisis and the Catholic Church, was also released
(Full disclosure: that last book was the result of a conference on sex abuse, in which I delivered a paper that became a chapter in her edited book.)
In short, she's as much of an expert on the topic of child sexual abuse as anyone can be.
So her comments on the John Jay Report on the "Causes and Contexts" of the crisis need to be taken seriously. She offers her analysis here at NCR."
which gives a full analysis of the American John Jay report on the sexual abuse crisis in the church by an expert called Mary Gail Frawley O'Dea.
It is a very important article.
On reading it myself it is clear that many of the conclusions from this report can equally be applied to other countries, including Ireland.
This is Fr. Martin's introduction to the article below :
"When the new John Jay report came out in May--lauded in some quarters and lambasted in others--I remember thinking, "I wonder what Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea thinks about it."
Frawley-O'Dea, a psychologist and author, is one of the country's leading experts on child abuse, and was the only psychologist invited to address the historic 2002 meeting of the U.S. bishops in Dallas.
Her book Treating the Adult Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective, co-authored in 1994, has become a classic text. In 2007, her book Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, was published; that same year co-edited volume, Predatory Priests, Silenced Victims: The Sexual Abuse Crisis and the Catholic Church, was also released
(Full disclosure: that last book was the result of a conference on sex abuse, in which I delivered a paper that became a chapter in her edited book.)
In short, she's as much of an expert on the topic of child sexual abuse as anyone can be.
So her comments on the John Jay Report on the "Causes and Contexts" of the crisis need to be taken seriously. She offers her analysis here at NCR."
3 comments:
Not sure if it's directly relevant, but have a look at this morning's NY Times article on ordaining women as priests: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/23priest.html?_r=1&hp
Hi there, it's great to meet up again.
Yes, it is excellent and I wish she would do a video of it or an mp3 recording as it is packed full of points which no-one can refute.
It would be nice if a succinct summary of the key points she made could be done to leave on sites that trot out the usual defensive pap.
Your work really interests me as I have a training in Jungian therapy. I am retired like you now but just try to keep abreast of things.
Also, here in the UK there was another side to the sickness of clerical abuse that came through yesterday when I discovered an English blog from a priest and other comments from " nodding head fans" that was so reactionary and bigoted against the Irish in a sly nuanced way it left me feeling sick. Oh dear yet another bully I thought !
It was clear to me that it was meant to provoke anyone who expressed disagreement with the Vatican handling of the abuse situations, It was saying Protect the Pope at all costs - the usual mantra - then get rid of the Irish bishops as if it was specifically some cultural defect solely peculiar to Irish character , culture and society,and blaming it on the state rather than the church hierarchy came across as another strong vein.
I am keeping my own counsel as they say ! I did leave a couple of comments but steered clear of responding to the bigotry and prejudice aspects because I know it would only lead to rancid exchanges !!
Thanks so much for visiting.
Blessings
Hi, Phil!
I read the analysis yesterday at NCR and thought it was so good, I wrote comment underscoring exactly those things that had concerned me about the John Jay study - the lack of a literature review, the lack of a historical context, and the lack of qualifications with regard to the "data" as well as the conclusions drawn. Like her, I am a Clinical Psychologist who has worked with victims of sexual abuse (both childhood victims and victims of clergy abuse as well as therapist abuse).
I thought her analysis is the best I've seen. Honestly I was relieved to see someone, beside myself, concerned about the "lacks" I referenced above.
In my comment there, I urged everyone to Bookmark her analysis. It's THAT good! Nice to see your post on this.
Peace be with you.
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