Child sexual abuse and the church

This chapter considers the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA) within the Roman Catholic Church (the Church) internationally. In particular, State facilitated responses in the United States of America (USA), Ireland and Australia are considered. This includes the function of civil litigation and State enquiry. Such enquiries continue to be extremely significant to understanding child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions. Internationally, civil litigation and public inquiries have become a substantial response in survivor’s pursuit of justice and in understanding the breadth and depth of the issues associated with CSA by Catholic clergy. Such methods are inherently jurisdictional and may not go far enough to challenge the deeply rooted systemic and cultural issues that impact on the ways in which CSA by Catholic clergy is perpetrated and managed. Hence, consideration needs to be given as to how the upper echelons of the Catholic Church can be brought to account for both primary and secondary abuses in the perpetration and management of CSA by clergy