Child Abuse in the Catholic Church
Child Abuse in the Catholic Church | A Victim Speaks Out
Craig Martin was abused at age eleven by Father Joseph Heitzer, a priest at St. Peter’s Church in Forest Lake, Minnesota. The following address was delivered before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in Dallas, Texas, on June 13, 2002.
Summary: After years of hiding my anger and pain at being a victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, I have decided to reveal the problems encountered by victims like me when coming to terms with sexual victimization. Priests not only seduce their victims but also the victims’ parents, so rather...
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- Introduction
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Table of Contents
- Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Overview
- A Message from the Pope on the Child Sexual Abuse Crisis
- Three Types of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church
- The Celibacy Requirement for Priests Contributes to Child Sexual Abuse
- The Celibacy Requirement for Priests Does Not Contribute to Child Sexual Abuse
- Practices Within the Catholic Hierarchy Encourage Child Sexual Abuse
- The Catholic Church’s Response to Child Sexual Abuse Is Adequate
- The Catholic Church’s Response to Child Sexual Abuse Is Inadequate
- Zero Tolerance of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church Is Unfair and Un-Catholic
- The Church’s Zero-Tolerance Policy Is Unfair to Victims
- Homosexuality in the Priesthood Fosters Child Sexual Abuse
- Catholic Bishops Must Reform to Resolve the Child Sexual Abuse Crisis
- Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church Should Be Treated as a Crime
- The Costs of Child Sexual Abuse Litigation Threaten the Catholic Church
- A Victim Speaks Out
- A Nonabusing Priest Speaks Out
- Organizations to Contact
- Bibliography
- Copyright
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