1 1 Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Meets the Civil Law by Thomas P ...

The first incidences of clergy sexual abuse did not occur within the era of widespread
secular media coverage, which easily dates back to the 1984 Lafayette Louisiana case of Father
Gilbert Gauthe. 244 Adult victims have come forward in significant numbers with stories of
sexual abuse that happened prior to 1984 and even prior to the Vatican Council era of 1962-
65. 245
Most instances of clergy sexual abuse of children or young adolescents were never
reported, even to parents. Even those who were victims of decades of abuse, admit that they
were too shocked or frightened to reveal the abuse, and were especially fearful of revealing it to
devout parents. 246 In those cases where children did manage to admit “something happened”
between the child and the priest, it was rare that a parent then took the matter to the local priest,
and even more rare that it was taken to a bishop. Child victims, now adults, have remarked that
they doubted their parents would have believed them. In some cases, when the child’s parents
did believe the story, many were still apprehensive about moving forward.
There were a few cases, however, that did make it to the attention of Church officials,
and even law enforcement agencies. When reports were made to bishops alone, often from
pastors on the local scene, the entire matter was handled in secret. 247 Parents were strictly
admonished, urged, intimidated, and even threatened with dire consequences if they reported the
244 State v. Gauthe, 731 So.2d 273 (1998).
245 There are no reliable statistics available that show the dates of clergy abuse. Conclusions on the frequency of
abuse prior to 1984 are obtained from anecdotal reports of victims and attorneys. However, the accounts of clergy
abuse by several of the more notorious perpetrators indicate that much of the abuse took place in the 1960’s and
70’s. See Elinor Burket & Frank Bruni, A Gospel of Shame (1993); see also Berry, supra note 1; Betrayal,
supra note 4; Sipe, supra note 15.
246 The authors have questioned several hundred victims about why they failed to report abuse at the time it was
happening. The common reason given was fear of not being believed or fear of being punished for speaking ill of a
cleric.
247 See Philip Jenkins, Creating A Culture of Clergy Deviance, in Wolves Within the Fold 118-19, 127-28 (Anson
Shupe ed., Rutgers Univ. Press, 1998); see also Balboni, supra, note 101, at 207.
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