Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church's 2,000 Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse

This book is an enlightening look at the issues behind the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church and the failure of leadership to adequately deal with the problem, both decades ago and today. Doyle presents a candid view of the motives behind the decisions that have taken place behind the cloak of secrecy that surrounds the clerical culture. The book is well written, easy to read and easily understand. I highly recommend it to all Catholics.

If this review seems harsh, it's because the lives of kids are at stake and the problem is NOT being addressed openly by the Catholic Church. When I read a non-fiction book and come across a fact that startles me, I put a dot in the margin next to the sentence and, at the back of the book, list the page number. This helps me research and/or discuss matters of import while preserving their context. Here are a few of the items I marked of Father Doyle's (et al) objective history of clerical celibacy and child abuse in the Catholic Church: 4- Solicitation in the confessional 21- Pope Leo IX decided to exclude "only those who had offended repeatedly and over a long period of time." 28 - Pope Benedict commanded that no two monks were to sleep in the same bed. 44 - Pope Benedict XIV condemned the practice of priests granting absolution to the very persons with whom they had engaged in solicitation. 60 - The John Jay College Survey review commissioned by the bishops found the 5,450 complaints of clerical sexual abuse included sixteen U.S. bishops. To determine for yourself if this is a NEW problem, read pages 5,6,7,11,13,17,20,21,22,26,30,33,35,36,37,40,44,46,52,68,104, 170,211,214,215,223,225,226 and 235. Oh, on page 258, we learn the Los Angeles dioceses uses the same PR firm earlier hired by Enron and Charles Keating.

This book is a most useful one - to say the least - for those of us, within the Church, grieved by these scandals and the utterly appalling manner in which they have been/are being handled. This excellent book should be required reading for bishops and priests everywhere. Sadly, it would appear that there is not much enthusiasm among many clergy for being educated about the nature and extent of the evil that has devastated so many lives. That in itself is a terrible indictment of many in the institutional Church. There are many false shepherds and - in Jesus' words - "hired hands", who DO NOT CARE about those wounded and torn by "wolves within the fold". They have sympathy for - and affinity with - their "brother priests" who are, in fact, sexual predators; and no love or compassion for their victims whose lives are so deeply scarred.

When I first learned of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal, I asked "how could this have happened?" This book answers that question. On just one page, I learned that Cardinals take an oath to never divulge anything confided to them that "might bring harm or dishonor to Holy Church." and In May 2002 a judge of the Holy Roman Rota, the highest court in the Church, wrote in a Vatican-approved article, that bishops should not report sexual violations of priests to civil authorities. This scandal is NOT history. Thinking people must get informed and act.

This is a very informative book about the history of sexual abuse and cover-up in the Catholic Church dating back to the Council of Trent. It is a valuable tool for professionals trying to get a grasp at the bigger picture of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.