Catholic Clerical Sexual Abuse: Effects on Vatican Sovereignty and Papal Power

Formicola, Jo Renee, Journal of Church and State

The church-state implications of Catholic clerical sexual abuse took a more complex and ominous turn recently, as the effects of the molestation scandal touched the highest levels of the government of the Vatican and even the pope. Vatican confusion, papal reticence to adjudicate sexual abuse cases, and a culture of confidentiality are failures that have now resulted in aggressive, civil confrontations with the Holy See1 as well as an escalation of serious legal, diplomatic, and financial tensions between secular and ecclesiastical authorities in a growing number of states. These political reactions are significant for a variety of reasons, but most especially because they have bred …

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Publication information: Article title: Catholic Clerical Sexual Abuse: Effects on Vatican Sovereignty and Papal Power. Contributors: Formicola, Jo Renee - Author. Journal title: Journal of Church and State. Volume: 53. Issue: 4 Publication date: Autumn 2011. Page number: 523+. © 1999 J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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