Item Details

The Impact of International Reports on the Australian Royal Commission’s Report into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse with Regard to the Catholic Church

Issue: Vol 31 No. 3 (2018) Special Issue: Religion at the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Journal: Journal for the Academic Study of Religion

Subject Areas: Religious Studies Buddhist Studies Islamic Studies Biblical Studies

DOI: 10.1558/jasr.37597

Abstract:

In December 2017, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse published its 17-volume report. Books 1 and 2 of Volume 16 were focused on religious institutions, especially on the Catholic Church where the incidence of child abuse was highest. In its methodology, findings and recommendations, the Royal Commission was heavily influenced by 17 prior government- and Church-sponsored inquiries in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. This article describes in some detail these reports, and assesses through a quantitative citation analysis the impact of these major international reports on the work of the Royal Commission, especially the eight most influential. They added to the credibility, moral authority and depth of the Royal Commission report.

Author: Desmond Philip Cahill

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References :

—2011. The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, 1950–2002. A report presented to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by the John Jay Research Team. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/The-Causes-and-Context-of-Sexual-Abuse-of-Minors-by-Catholic-Priests-in-the-United-States-1950-2010.pdf

—2017b. Final Report, Volume 16, Book 2. https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/final_report_-_volume__16religious_institutions_book_2.pdf (accessed 8 May 2019).