Abstract
Marie-Jo Thiel, a professor at the University of Strasbourg, is one of the most important European theologians. Her book is a veritable tour de force, and not only for the length of the tome, almost 720 pages long. It is, in addition, the sense of completeness in treating the subject matter at hand that strikes this reviewer: all angles of the sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic church, from the historical, to the psychological, the canonical, the ethical, and the theological, are covered with great subtlety and finesse. T. comes across not only as an obvious expert, whose dedication to the issue brings to fulfillment at least three decades of scholarly engagement, but as the profound and sophisticated thinker she is. The book unfolds in eight well-defined and cogently articulated chapters, each of them forming almost a self-standing treatise, yet linked in a logical sequence that keeps the reader wanting to explore further, covering all the facets of what constitutes a very complex issue.
Chapter 1 provides a historical overview of the sexual abuse of minors, situating the specificity of the church-related phenomenon within the larger context of the history of sexuality. The chapter is inevitably fragmentary (it is aptly titled “Des elements d’histoire”), yet candid in the documentation it provides. Of relevance is the observation that, since the Middle Ages, the sacrament of penance has played a central role in providing the space within which the confessor entices the victim, in what Canon Law will refer to as crimen sollicitationis. Within the context of the sacrament, the crime in question is covered under the veil of secrecy, not only with respect to the happening of the abuse, but also to the possibility of a transparent process of canonical sanctioning.
After a chapter (chapter 2) dedicated to clarifying the complex semantic field that defines the pathologies leading to abuse, the canonical story is taken up at length in chapter 3, to then transition into a careful look at the experience of the victims (chapter 4), and the makeup of the perpetrators (chapter 5). The analyses of the sexual abuse of minors, in these last two chapters, extend to society at large, bringing into considerations a variety of relevant sociological and psychological factors that prepare the ground for a focus on the sexual abuses perpetrated by religious and clergy within the Catholic church (chapter 6). T.’s documentation touches upon an impressively wide geographical landscape, which covers countries as different as the United States (up to the McCarrick affair and the Pennsylvania Report), Canada, Chile, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Though coming only in chapter 7, the analyses of the causes of sexual abuse are the central, and possibly most important, part of the book. Here, T. is at her best, showing conceptual sophistication in the systematic reconstruction, and insightfulness in highlighting a number of relevant dimensions. To begin, the pervasiveness of abuse speaks to an imbalance of power within the church, which, coupled with the sense of clerical entitlement and separation, nourishes a culture of secrecy. Clericalism is ultimately rooted in a theology of radical difference between the priesthood conferred through the sacrament of ordination, and the one in which all faithful participate on account of their baptism. Such a sense of separation, further enhanced by a promise of celibacy, when resting on an immature sexuality, keeps the priest away from regular interaction with others, and provides him with an excuse for self-justificatory behavior. In this context, children and other vulnerable people become easy prey: easily accessible and trusting, and, thus, easily exploitable.
Furthermore, the problematic sexual anthropology of traditional Catholic moral theology feeds into a problematic understanding of the morality of human actions. An objectivist, that is, abstract, mindset encourages the perpetrator to “disengage” from his very actions, to “suspend” his own moral agency, and to forfeit full responsibility for the consequences of his acts.
The last chapter, looking ahead at the work to be done (“Prevenir, former, veiller, prendre soin”) pleads for church structures that are more transparent and open, a formation of priests rooted in an ecclesiology of communion, the rehabilitation of the sensus fidei of the faithful and the place of women in the church, in short, a structural reform consistent with Pope Francis’s emphasis on synodality and participation.
In spite of its rather daunting size, the book is easily readable and beautifully written. T’s personal commitment to the church comes across in a language that is both brutally honest, yet full of hope. An English translation of the book, either in its entirety or in part, would be a way to honor her dedication, and to recognize the importance of her work.