Silent Sufferers: Addressing Clergy Sexual Exploitation of Adults in the Catholic Church

This paper examines a critical yet understudied dimension of the Catholic Church's ongoing reckoning with sexual abuse: the sexual exploitation of adult congregants by clergy. While the Spotlight investigation catalyzed global attention to the abuse of minors, the Church's institutional response has largely neglected adult victims, creating a significant gap in its healing journey. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of church policies, legal frameworks, and victim testimonies, this paper demonstrates how this oversight perpetuates harm and impedes the Church's efforts to rebuild trust and establish meaningful accountability.

The research reveals several concerning patterns that directly relate to the Catholic Church's post-Spotlight reform efforts. First, diocesan websites and official policies frequently restrict abuse acknowledgment to minors and "vulnerable adults" (defined narrowly as those with cognitive impairments), implicitly denying the inherent power imbalance between clergy and adult congregants. This institutional blind spot is exemplified in the policies of major dioceses including Los Angeles, New York, and Saint Paul and Minneapolis, which provide no clear reporting mechanisms or support structures for adult victims.

Second, the paper documents how religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, have strategically weaponized First Amendment protections to evade accountability in civil litigation involving adult victims. The case analysis of Jane Doe v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange, et al. (2018) illustrates this pattern while also highlighting emerging judicial resistance to these constitutional defenses. As the court emphatically stated, "The First Amendment is not a safe haven for a sexual predator and his enabler," representing a potential turning point in institutional accountability.

The research situates adult clergy abuse within the context of power dynamics, demonstrating parallels with other professional relationship standards. While California's Department of Consumer Affairs explicitly states that "professional therapy never includes sexual contact between a therapist and a client" and that "it is always the responsibility of the therapist to ensure that sexual contact with a client, whether consensual or not, does not occur," Catholic institutions have failed to establish similar clear boundaries for clergy-congregant relationships. This comparison illuminates the Church's exceptional treatment of clergy and its reluctance to acknowledge the fundamental incompatibility of sexual relationships with pastoral care.

Significantly, the paper engages with current legislative efforts to address these gaps, including California's Senate Bill 894 (2024) which aims to criminalize clergy sexual exploitation of adults. The analysis of this legislative initiative reveals the entrenched resistance to recognizing that consent cannot be freely given within inherently unequal power relationships – a critical concept that the Catholic Church has yet to fully incorporate into its institutional framework.

For the Catholic Church to achieve true healing and restoration of trust, this research suggests several imperative reforms:

1. Developing comprehensive ecclesiastical policies that explicitly recognize that all adult congregants are vulnerable to clergy abuse and establish clear boundaries in pastoral relationships
2. Creating transparent reporting mechanisms and support services specifically designed for adult victims
3. Cooperating with rather than opposing legislative efforts to establish legal accountability for clergy who exploit adult congregants
4. Engaging in public education within Catholic communities about the nature of power imbalances in pastoral relationships

This paper contributes to the conference theme by highlighting a critical gap in the Catholic Church's response to sexual abuse over the 23 years since Spotlight. By examining how institutional resistance to acknowledging adult exploitation mirrors earlier patterns of denial regarding child abuse, the research provides valuable insights for developing more comprehensive accountability systems within Catholic institutions.

The findings suggest that the Church's healing journey remains profoundly incomplete as long as adult victims continue to be marginalized in institutional responses. Only by expanding its circle of care to include all victims of clergy sexual exploitation can the Catholic Church truly fulfill its commitment to justice, transparency, and spiritual healing in the aftermath of the abuse crisis.