Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church [Hardcover]

Leon J. Podles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2007

Sacrilege explores the deep roots of the Catholic Church's sexual-abuse scandal, revealing its full depth and breadth. In horrifying yet necessary detail, former federal investigator Leon Podles surveys the full extent of the damage, showing how victims were failed by bishops, laity, therapists, police, courts, press, and even popes. Examining the history behind today's headlines, Dr. Podles reveals how centuries-old theological errors encouraged blind submission to hierarchy, by making obedience to authority the highest virtue. He also shines a light on the new theological errors, popularized since Vatican II, that glorify every type of sexual expression--including pedophilia. Sacrilege will prove an essential resource for all those concerned with the history and future of Catholicism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sacrilege is a relentless examination of the clergy sex abuse crisis with great compassion for the victims.... This book deserves to be read." -- Jason Berry,author of Lead Us Not into Temptation

"Sacrilege is unique and invaluable.... There have been dozens of books written about clergy sex abuse, but this one is a `must-have.'" -- Thomas Doyle, coauthor of Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes

About the Author

Leon J. Podles worked for twenty years as a Federal investigator. He received a Catholic education, attended seminary for a time, and earned his Ph. D. from the University of Virginia. He is author of The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity (Spence, 1999) and a Senior Editor of Touchstone: A Journal of Mare Christianity. His writing has appeared in America, The American Spectator, Crisis, and other publications. He serves on the board of BishopAccountability.org.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 676 pages
• Publisher: Crossland Press (November 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979027993
• ISBN-13: 978-0979027994
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 72 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for comprehending clergy sex abuse December 4, 2007

By Thomas Patrick Doyle

Podles has the investigative skills and background and the intellectual and academic credentials to present a book that not only tells the story of the tragic Catholic clergy sex abuse nightmare, but why it happened. This book is foundational to an accurate comprehension of this complex and highly emotional issue. Having read just about every book on the topic I find Podles' book a heavyweight in the very best sense. His style is somewhat unique in that he fortifies his analytical opinions with well laid out factual cases. The book reads well but it should and will evoke strong feelings as it brings to life one of the greatest scandals the instititional Catholic Church has faced and continues to experience.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet November 28, 2007

By Joseph C. Rigert

As a journalist who has been doing research on clergy sex abuse for five years, I consider "Sacrilege" to be a seminal work, the best yet of the many books on this subject. It is biblical in its scope and depth. It provides telling detail of the horrific abuses of Catholic priests, but goes beyond that to blame the bishops for condoning and covering up this worst scandal in the history of the American Catholic church. And it puts a proper focus on the children who suffered greatly from the abuses. I recommend this book as a must read for all those who want to know how a lack of accountability allowed a huge religious bureaucracy to become corrupted at the core.--Joe Rigert, Minneapolis, MN.

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's OK to Be Angry December 18, 2007

By HoustonReviewer

Leon Podles is angry, and wants us to be angry, too. He wants us to be angry at the sin of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy. But more than that, he also wants us to be angry at the bishops and pope for not being angry at that same sin. That's what irks him about this crisis more than anything else--never have the bishops or popes expressed any anger that priests molested kids or that other bishops covered it up and transferred the predators to new hunting grounds.

Podles had done his work well. Others who have written about the sexual abuse crisis, including Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, give us great detail about particular epicenters of the crisis and their own journeys as they covered the stories, but Podles' work stands out as a masterful portrayal of the big picture, linking the stories Berry and Renner reported with stories from other times and places. He paints with broad strokes in places, but gets into some very fine detail in others to help us to grasp the magnitude of some truly horrendous cases. Podles also gives us analysis of the abusers and the victims, and of how each was treated by bishops, and what went wrong.

The bishops are clearly the focal point of his anger. He asks pointed questions:

"Why hadn't bishops ever gotten angry at abusers? Why were abusers treated so gently, when men who left the priesthood to marry were treated so harshly? Why had bishops lied to parents? Why hadn't they disciplined their clergy, when they seemed so eager to micromanage everything else in America, from what married couples did in bed to what the government did about immigration?..."(3)

But he goes further, seeing the crisis as about more than the bishops and the priests they coddled: Catholic culture is implicated; specifically a narcissistic clericalism in which the laity, including police and judges and prosecutors colluded. Read more ›

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Graphic descriptions . . . July 11, 2009

By James W. Garvey

Be alert! This book: "Sacrilege - Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church," by Leon J. Podles (Crossland Press, P.O. Box 26290, Baltimore, Md., 2008)contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse. In writing this book delineating how the clerlgy sexual abuse scandal developed and grew, Podles confined himself almost entirely to publicly available documentary sources -- newspapes, magazine articles, court documents and books. He lists by name, parish and diocese some of the clergy who received notorious press coverage because they were accused of sexual abuse. In later chapters he makes reference to these men, and what they said and did, when he seeks support for his claim that reform is needed. He has a genuine concern for the victims of sexual abuse, and points out that abuse is more than the violation of external law. Abuse results in physical and psychological harm to victims. In some cases children were abused (pedophilia). However, he indicates that far and away, post pubescent teenage boys make up a much larger percentage of the abuse victims (ephebophilia.)

Podles is highly critical of the Catholic Bishops in the United States because they tolerated a climate of clericalism in which he says sexual abuse could occur. He also faults certain Bishop for transferring accused priests from assignment to assignment. In effect, these transfers gave abusive clergy the opportunity to victimize other young people. In fairness, though, he also points out that sexual abuse is not confined to the Catholic Church, or to other churches. He states that all instituions who deal with children -- Scouts, schools, Big Brothers -- have to understand the conditons that set the sage for abuse so that they can prevent it.... The author points out that sexual abuse was by no means limited to the United States. Ireland, Spain, Germany, Poland and Canada are cited as some of the countries where sexual abuse of minors was also a public scandal during the closing decades of the 20th century.

To deal with sexual abuse, the American Bishops adopted a "zero tolerance" policy which states that in the Unied States, if there is a substantial allegation against a priest in the matter of sexual abuse of a minor, the priest is to be permanetly removed from active ministry. Podles advocates for the removal of the statue of limitations in criminal law (called 'prescription' in Canon Law) and suggests that Canon Law be reformed to guarantee that bishops have authority over all priests and religous who work in their diocese, and to ensure that bishops are held accountable for any failure to supervise these priests. Podles also recommends that the Pope should not be the only authority to hold bishops accountable; Other bishops should be able to act, as he said they did in the early Church, when a bishop in a neighboring diocese starts creating [or refuses to deal with] problems for the Church.

Podles extensive research provides a panaramic view of the clergy sexual abuse problem from the early centuries of the Church through the last half of the 20th century in the United States. Note, though, that the author is not without his own prejudices which show through in the way he discusses homosexuality, and his extremely narrow view of North American Bishops. In fact, a very small percentage of clergy committed sexual abuse. It is important to note that not every priest and bishop is a pedophile. I recommend this book with reservations. It is for mature readers - beware of the very graphic descriptions of sexual abuse in this text.
James W. Garvey July 2009 Read more ›

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable but sickening expose of Satanic corruption in the Church September 14, 2009

By J. Michael

In his 1999 book "The Church Impotent", former federal investigator Leon Podles employed his considerable skills in analyzing the gender imbalance in Western Christianity. In "Sacrilege", he takes as his subject the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Podles's exhaustive research makes this 676 page tome a landmark study on the subject, but I think it suffers from the same minor weakness as his previous book. Perhaps reflecting his background as an investigator, I found more value in the solid facts he brings to light rather than the hypotheses he puts forward to explain root causes. Although his theories are at least somewhat plausible, they don't all ring quite true to me, so I believe I would be more interested in an analysis by a professional historian, psychologist or theologian. Nevertheless, that is a very minor objection to a groundbreaking expose of a horrific corruption in the heart of Christ's Church.

Because the smears and distortions perpetrated by the popular culture in connection to this issue has been so outrageous, in every discussion of the abuse scandal a loyal Catholic, or any fair minded person, almost feels obligated to provide some facts to correct popular misconceptions and put things in perspective:

First, Catholic priests as a whole are now generally smeared as child molesters while, in fact, only a small minority of priests- from 2% to 4%- in the decades of the scandal were abusers. The vast majority of our priests were and are true to their vows. In reality, the number of sex abuse victims has been even higher in Protestant churches, although the media ignores it, and will probably become even greater due to the decentralized structure and the low bar to leadership positions in so many churches.... The Boy Scouts are a magnet for abusers, as is the teaching profession, whose sexual abuse problem puts the Church's in the shade. Even 1 in 10 doctors have sexual contact with patients. So, in short, this was not a uniquely Catholic problem that could be blamed on celibacy or any other specifically Catholic characteristic. This is a common problem in institutions that deal with children, and the Catholic Church's offenses were actually less than many other groups which have never been similarly stigmatized.

The second misconception is that this was a scandal of pedophilia (abuse of prepubescents) when in fact the vast majority of cases were crimes of pederasty (abuse of post-pubescent adolescents). What that means is that, instead of this being an issue of deranged men violently raping little children, this scandal mostly involved homosexuals acting on their attraction to sexually mature but underage boys. That distinction doesn't mitigate their crimes in the least but it does present us with different implications.

The third thing to consider is the general attitude of society towards these crimes during the decades of the scandal. In the beginning of this period at least, the justice system saw pederasty as a minor transgression rather than a major crime. The police sometimes caught priests in the act but merely released them into the custody of their bishops. Judges were lenient. The psychological profession counseled the bishops that abusers could be cured through therapy and the best solution would be simply to transfer them to other parishes for a change of scenery. That doesn't change the fact that Catholic priests and bishops, as moral authorities and servants of God, should have known better than secular society, but it belies the popular notion that the Church perpetrated these crimes under the nose of a morally pure society.

Now, with all that being said, what must be admitted is that this scandal was a crime of monumental proportions that should elicit rage from every Catholic. Because the media usually employed vague words and euphemisms to describe the abuse, Podles made it a point to describe_exactly_what these vermin did to these children, and if these accounts don't move you to tears of fury, nothing will. Between 10-12,000 children were reported sexually abused in the United States, but the actual numbers are probably much higher. There were actual rings of abuser priests who pimped out boys to each other. One priest probably even murdered one of his victims. There were bishops who abused children and who covered up for abusive priests under them. Bishops and priests lied under oath when the law finally got around to prosecuting the perpetrators. Some priests even had boys conduct sexual acts upon them during Mass. In at least one unspeakably evil instance, a consecrated Host was used in the commission of the abuse, which led Podles to posit that this scandal rose above the level of criminal and embraced the Satanic.

Even though only a small percentage of priests actually abused children, a much larger percentage of clergy were complicit in the crimes through passive acceptance. Podles mentions myriad cases of pastors, seminary directors and other people in positions of power knowing about these crimes and sometimes actually witnessing them, and still doing nothing. An incredible_two-thirds_of U.S. bishops transferred known abusers to different parishes and dioceses. Oftentimes, the criminals were not only transferred, but knowingly put into positions of power over boys, such as Boy Scout leader, youth group minister or choir director. With the exception of humble Father Fitzgerald, who agitated for a hard line on predator priests as far back as the 1950s, there wasn't a single figure in the Church who had enough courage or basic humanity to do anything about it. The various Popes, especially John Paul II, did nothing. Most of the bishops were more concerned about the careers and reputations of the abusers, and transferred them all around the country, like a plague virus. Priests looked the other way. Podles even relates how the laity, in some cases, became angry at the victim for speaking out and "ruining a good man's life". No one really expressed any true remorse or anger, when the appropriate response would have been for these bishops and priests to be hung by their sinning members from the steeples of their own churches.

Since I was really only aware that an undefined "abuse" took place, this book was a real eye-opener for me, in terms of what actually happened and the extent of the corruption. The real questions now are why it happened and what is to be done. Pope Benedict XVI was elected partly because of his dedication to root out "filth" in the priesthood. Under his papacy, the Vatican has barred men with homosexual tendencies from ordination and instituted accountability safeguards and diocesan transparency. It is debatable whether that is enough.

As to why it happened, Podles explains the existence of this pederast cabal by indicting a vast array of culprits, some more plausible than others, including "Irish alcoholism and clericalism", the 20th century elevation of psychology over theology, the "ethos of pre-Vatican II Catholicism", post Vatican II dissent and sexual liberation, the repression of anger, the feminization of Western Christianity, and the theological errors of nominalism and legalism, among others.

Podles- in an unusual position for an orthodox Catholic- attributes much of the blame to pre-Vatican II Catholicism. He claims that this kind of crime has plagued the Church for hundreds of years. He says that the error of nominalism (the idea that an action is wrong because God said so, not because it's inherently bad) has tainted the Church for many centuries and infected the Catholic conscience with legalism. He blames sacramental Confession for inculcating a guilt-free forgiveness without regard to the harm to others our sins cause. I find those claims bizarre, and have a hard time believing that Podles put them forth for any reason but provocation, or to demonstrate his wide reading.

To claim that morally exacting pre-Vatican II Catholicism (especially when it came to sexual matters) could possibly have had anything to do with inculcating a mentality of perversion is simply ludicrous. Even in the morally ambiguous post-Vatican II Church, there could have been no possible doubt among the faithful that having sex with a child was a horrible sin that merited being thrown into the sea with a millstone around one's neck.

His only evidence for generational clerical abuse is an Italian scandal from the 1600s. He ignores the fact that every Catholic is catechized that true repentance, and thus forgiveness, requires restitution towards the person harmed. And the idea that a person who does a right action based on God's Word is morally crippled in comparison to a person who philosophically reasons out his ethics is a concept that is strange, to say the least. Podles goes too far with his speculations. His theological fine points may sound insightful on the page, but when Catholic life is studied as it is lived in reality, his arguments seem like nothing more than sophistry. These crimes happened because the teachings of the Church were ignored, not obeyed.

This disaster was caused by a combination of factors: first, the institutional solidarity that is present in any large organization thwarted justice. Second, the consensus of the psychological authorities was in favor of rehabilitation, not exposure. Third, as in any hierarchical group, managers (bishops) were chosen who were diplomatic and didn't rock the boat. Fourth, Podles' well-documented feminization of the Church produced weak, effeminate prelates and priests who were scared to death of confrontation. Fifth, the zeitgeist of the mid 20th century favored rebellion, and that obviously affected the men who came to lead the American Church. Their toleration of theological dissent extended to moral disobedience as well. Sixth, ordination standards became subject to the tolerance of the age and allowed men with obvious emotional problems or homosexual tendencies into the priesthood. And seventh, once a homosexual got into a position of power in a parish or seminary, he only attracted more homosexuals into the priesthood, where they promoted each other's careers and covered up for each other's crimes.

From top to bottom, the church failed the victims and deserves to be mercilessly castigated and punished. This book serves that purpose, but Podles goes too far in my opinion and seems to attack the spiritual Church, its Magisterium and aspects of its Gospel, even though he says he is a loyal Catholic. Nevertheless, it's a valuable work I highly recommend, with the exception of the author's theorizing. Read more ›