Vatican: Church must work with scientific experts to prevent abuse

Published: 2004-02-18

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In confronting the clerical sex abuse crisis, the Catholic Church needs to work more closely with scientific experts to identify potential perpetrators and make sure they cannot harm the young, a soon-to-be-published Vatican report says. The 220-page report, "Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Scientific and Legal Perspectives," represents the Vatican's first comprehensive effort to examine recent research into the psychological causes and types of abuse, screening procedures, recidivism rates, effects on child victims and the possibility of successful therapy for abusers. Although cautioning that each case of sexual abuse against minors is unique, it sketched general characteristics of priest-abusers and identified a wide range of possible "risk factors," including sexual immaturity, narcissistic traits, alcohol and drug abuse, hormonal abnormalities and endocrine disorders. While drawing on the experience of U.S. bishops in confronting sexual abuse, the report made a case against the U.S. policy of "zero tolerance" for clerical abusers. It suggested that the church and society are better off when abusive priests are kept in the priesthood but away from children. The report, to be published by the Pontifical Academy for Life, was based on a Vatican-sponsored symposium of scientific experts held last April. It includes the papers delivered at the symposium, summaries of follow-up discussions involving Vatican officials and the experts, and introductory and conclusive chapters.

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