Catholic Sex Abuse Cases - International Dimension of Problem

International Dimension of Problem

See also: Roman Catholic sex abuse cases by country

Sexual abuse of children under the age of consent by priests receives significant media and public attention in Canada, Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Belgium, France, Germany and Australia, while cases have been reported throughout the world. Many of the cases span several decades and are brought forward years after the abuse occurred.

Although nation-wide enquiries have only been conducted in the United States and Ireland, cases of clerical sexual abuse of minors have been reported and prosecuted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries. In 1994 allegations of sexual abuse on 47 young seminarians surfaced in Argentina. In 1995 Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër resigned from his post as Archbishop of Vienna, Austria over allegations of sexual abuse, although he remained a Cardinal. Since 1995, over one hundred priests from various parts of Australia were convicted of sexual abuse.

In Ireland, a report (see Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse) was made covering six decades (from the 1950s) noting "endemic" sexual abuse in Catholic boys' institutions with church leaders aware of what was going on and government inspectors failing to "stop beatings, rapes and humiliation."

In Australia, according to Broken Rites, a support and advocacy group for church-related sex abuse victims, as of 2011 there have been over one hundred cases where Catholic priests have been charged for child sex offences. A 2012 police report detailed 40 suicide deaths directly related to abuse by Catholic clergy in the state of Victoria.

Of the Catholic sexual abuse cases in Latin America the most famous is arguably of the sexual scandal of Father Marcial Maciel, the leader of the Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic congregation of pontifical right made up of priests and seminarians studying for the priesthood. This occurred after the Legion spent more than a decade denying allegations and criticizing the victims who claimed abuse.

In Tanzania, Father Kit Cunningham together with three other priests were exposed as paedophiles after Cunningham's death. The abuse took place in the 1960s but was only publicly revealed in 2011, largely through a BBC documentary.

Church officials and academics knowledgeable about the Third World Roman Catholic Church, say that sexual abuse by clergy is generally not discussed, and thus is difficult to measure. This may be due in part to the more hierarchical structure of the Church in Third World countries, the "psychological health" of clergy in those regions, and because third word media, legal systems and public culture are not as apt to thoroughly discuss sexual abuse. In the Philippines where as of 2002 at least 85% of the population is Catholic, the revelations of sexual abuse by priests, including child sexual abuse, followed the United States' reporting in 2002.

Academic Mathew N. Schmalz notes India as an example, "you would have gossip and rumors, but it never reaches the level of formal charges or controversies." Traditionally the Roman Catholic Church has held tight control over many aspects of church life around the globe including "the words used in prayer," but left sex abuse cases to be handled locally. In 2001 sex abuse cases were first required to be reported to Rome.

In A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse by Thomas Plante, a psychiatrist specializing in abuse counseling and considered an expert on clerical abuse, he states "approximately 4% of priests during the past half century (and mostly in the 1960s and 1970s) have had a sexual experience with a minor." According to Newsweek magazine, the figure is similar to that in the rest of the adult population.

Allegations of and convictions for sexual abuse by clergy have been subjects of public debate in many countries. Although there are no figures available on the number of sexual abuse cases in different regions, in 2002, The Boston Globe reported "clearly the issue has been most prominent in the United States." The United States is the country with the highest number of Catholic Sex Abuse cases, leading Thomas Plante to surmise that the "crisis in the United States reached epidemic proportions within the Church, the likes of which haven't been witnessed before."

After the United States, the country with the next highest number of reported cases is Ireland. A significant number of cases have also been reported in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. In 2004, the John Jay report tabulated a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the U.S. against whom allegations of sexual abuse had been made.

In response to the attention, members of the church hierarchy have argued that media coverage has been excessive and disproportionate. According to a Pew Research Center study, in 2002 the media coverage was focused on the US, where a Boston Globe series initiated widespread coverage in the region. However, by 2010 the focus had shifted to Europe.

Church officials and academics knowledgeable about Third World Roman Catholic Church, say that sexual abuse by clergy is generally not discussed, and thus is difficult to measure. This may be due in part to the more hierarchical structure of the Church in Third World countries, the "psychological health" of clergy in those regions, and because third word media, legal systems and public culture are not as apt to thoroughly discuss sexual abuse. In 2001, sex abuse cases were first required to be reported to Rome. In July 2010, the Vatican doubled the length of time after the 18th birthday of the victim that clergymen can be tried in a church court and streamlined the processes for removing "pedophile priests."

In September 2011, a submission was lodged with the International Criminal Court alleging that the Pope, Cardinal Angelo Sodano dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Vatican Secretary of State and Cardinal William Levada head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, had committed a crime against humanity by failing to prevent or punish perpetrators of rape and sexual violence in a "systematic and widespread" concealment which included failure to co-operate with relevant law enforcement agencies. In a statement to the Associated Press, the Vatican described this as a "ludicrous publicity stunt and a misuse of international judicial processes." Lawyers and law professors emphasised that the case is likely to fall outside the court's jurisdiction.