by Brendan Geary 

This report (1) is the outcome of the research undertaken as part of the Boundary Breaking Project of the Centre for Catholic Studies of Durham University. (I need to declare an interest as I was a member of the Steering Group of the project from 2019 – 2024).

There have been many reports into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church – USA (2004, 2011), Dublin Archdiocese (2009), The Netherlands (2011), Australia (2017), Germany (2019), France (2021), England and Wales (IICSA - 2022) and Scotland (2018 ongoing), New Zealand (2024). These reports – by independent and / or government appointed investigators – provide statistical data about the abuse that took place in these jurisdictions / dioceses, analysis of data and sometimes witness statements of those who were abused. Some reports (John Jay 2011, Australia, Germany, France) also investigate the culture and context in which the abuse took place. The Australian and French reports are particularly helpful regarding the Church’s structures and theologies which in different ways contributed to the crisis.

The Cross of the Moment has a different aim. It begins by stating that the abuse crisis has ‘tested, and, in some ways, broken crucial parts of what we thought we knew about ourselves as a Catholic community’ (p. 7). In a sense, this is an ‘insider’s’ view of the crisis which seeks to understand better how some of our ‘habits and practices’ as a Church contributed to and are implicated in the crisis (p. 7). It asks how we can become a more ‘compassionate, just and truthful’ community. The report is not concerned only with what went wrong and how this happened, but asks about paths of redemption and ways to repair the brokenness.

The report is based on 82 interviews with a range of people who were affected by the abuse crisis: survivors, priests and deacons, lay people (13 were women), family members of survivors, members of religious communities, professional safeguarding staff, and five diocesan bishops. The authors note that there is no single story or perspective that explains the crisis and that it is only by listening to all the people who were affected by the crisis that we can begin to understand the challenges this presents and possible ways forward. It also proposes the need to pause (p. 12) to find a ‘deeper understanding of what needs to change’.

Dr Brendan Geary is a Marist Brother with a background in teaching, formation, counselling and psychology. He has worked in safeguarding for more than twenty years as a therapist, researcher, writer, and teacher.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao, Unsplash.