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Article
Answering the earthquake
Psychology
  • Thomas G. Plante, Santa Clara University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2004
Publisher
National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education
Abstract

During the past several years, the American Catholic Church has suffered an enormous earthquake due to the child sexual abuse crisis that was initially reported on January 6, 2002 by the Boston Globe Spotlight Team. Although the sexual abuse of children by priests had been in the news many times before, the recent case in Boston 14 Conversations resulted in perhaps the largest earthquake ever in the American Catholic Church. While the epicenter of the quake was centered in Boston, there were many significant aftershocks felt across the land. Sadly, Jesuits and Jesuit universities were not immune from the recent horrible news of clergy sexual misconduct. A number of .Jesuits experienced credible accusations of child sexual abuse. One of the Jesuit university presidents resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Sadly, we have been reminded that some priests and bishops (and even some Jesuits) can behave badly in ways that significantly harm others.

Citation Information
Plante, Thomas G. "Answering the Earthquake." Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education 26.1 (2004): 14-17.