‘Mom, Are We There Yet?’ Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse: Our Church, Our Problem, by Jennifer Roback Morse

COMMENTARY: ‘We will get there when we get there’; a look at the psychological, spiritual and social impact of childhood sexual abuse.

By Jennifer Roback Morse, EWTN News, February 15, 2022

Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D, is the founder and president of the Ruth Institute. She recently delivered an address called “Baked In From the Beginning: Pedophilia and the Sexual Revolution” to the Eighth Day Institute in Wichita, Kansas. ..

“Mom, are we there, yet?” This question keeps popping into my mind as I listen to some of the discussions about clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church. I understand why people want to be done with the whole topic. Clergy sexual abuse is embarrassing. The harms to children are revolting. The spiritual cost is overwhelming. I understand the desire to not think about it anymore.

In my last column, I concluded that the Church has made some improvements, but we are not out of the woods. In this column, I will look at what you might call the “soft” side of the sex abuse crisis: the psychological, spiritual, and social impact of childhood sexual abuse. A candid look at these issues gives a different answer to the question, “Are we there yet?” It also shows that all of us, not just the clergy, can contribute to improving the situation. …

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