Sex, Priests, And Power

Sex, Priests, and Power is an invitation to exorcise the demons that threaten to engulf a mighty institution. Richard Sipe argues convincingly for an honest examination of the power structure of the Catholic Church and a thorough search for the factors that diminish and distort religion. From every corner of this country and from countires around the world, reports of sexual abuse, exploitation, and ongoing sexual misconduct by Catholic priests have appeared in every major newspaper, magazine, and TV and Radio talk show. What was first denied by church officials finally turned into a deluge of overwhelming evidence played out in legal settlements and courtrooms. Richard Sipe startled the world in 1990 with his controversial book, A Secret World: Sexuality and theSearch for Celibacy, which presented evidence of sexual activity by almost 50% of the Roman Catholic priesthood. In this book, Richard Sipe examines the continuing sexual crisis facing the Catholicm Church today. Has the storm of publicity and controvery caused the church to acknowledge any of the accusations? Will the church accept statistical evidence or alter the way in which it trains its clergy? How has it come to grips with reforming or retraining abusers? Has it acknowledged the spread of AIDS among its ranks? Why does the church oppress women and react with hostility and fear towards them? Sex, Priests, and Power: Anatomy of a Crisis addresses these and other questions. The book substantiates its conclusions with many vivid and chilling stories of sexual abuse by clergy against children, women, and members of its own ranks... * Father James Porter victimized 200 children between 1960-1972 while an active parish priest. * A 52-year-old priest, under the guise of family friend and tutor, sexually abused…