An Historical Viewpoint of Sexual Abuse Perpetrated by Clergy and Religious

This paper has been adapted from the literature review of the author's PhD phenomenological study entitled “Idiosyncratic Trauma Characteristics Experienced by Survivors of Sexual Abuse by Clergy or Religious.” It provides an historical background into the issue of clergy sexual abuse, dispelling any myths of this purely being a 20th century occurrence. It critically explores some of the ways in which church hierarchies have addressed this issue and considers church's potential for re-traumatization for survivors of such abuse.