Neutralisation and sexual abuse: a study of monks from one Benedictine Abbey

ABSTRACT

Allegations of sexual abuse against minors by priests in Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the US are not new. Yet, it has only been within the past three years that dioceses (including Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, Joliet, and Winona) have unsealed files of priests accused of sexual abuse. Using available files from one Benedictine Abbey in Minnesota, we conducted a retrospective content analysis with a focus towards the way those within the diocese justified, neutralised, or shifted blame for these crimes. In addition to the presence of some of these themes, we also uncovered evidence of concealment by upper-level administrators. This manuscript offers a brief summation of the sexual abuse scandal within the Church, a case study of this abbey’s changing response to allegations over the past three decades, and a discussion of our findings, ideas for policy changes, and directions for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual abuse
• priests
• Catholic Church
• techniques of neutralisation
• clergy
• content analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by authors.

Notes

1. The mission of the USCCB is to assist local bishops and act on issues affecting the Church under the guidance of the Pope (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, n.d.).