Abuse in the Latin American Church

Véronique Lecaros is Professor in the Department of Theology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP).Ana Lourdes Suárez is a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)/National University of San Martin, Argentina.

‘The crisis of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has affected many people, but unfortunately there exists no serious literature on Latin America. This book is therefore essential for understanding and analysing this crisis. The quality of the contributions makes it a major contribution to the fight against this scourge.’ – Stéphane Joulain, Faculty of Canon Law, St Paul University, Ottawa, Canada‘If there was ever a convincing account of the far-reaching effects of the prolific clerical abuses in Latin America, this is it! It is, by far, the most comprehensive and bold exposition of the mysteries and twists behind ecclesial abuse, and our shared and urgent call to act upon them.’ – Elena Sada, Boston College, USA, and author of Ave negra. La historia de una mujer que sobrevivió al reino de Marcial Maciel (The story of a woman who survived the reign of Marcial Maciel)‘The abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is a global phenomenon and an adequate understanding of its dimensions requires studies at the continental level. This volume of studies on Latin America is a key contribution.’ – Massimo Faggioli, Villanova University, USA

• Introduction Part 1: Abuses by Country 1. Argentina 2. Brazil 3.Chile 4.Ecuador 5.Mexico 6.Peru 7.Uruguay Part 2: The Abuse Crisis, its Origin and the Institutional Answer 8. Clericalism in its Latin-American Variant 9. Celibacy and the Ecclesial Conception of Physical Suffering 10. The Silence of Victims and Networks of Secrecy 11. Relevance and Meaning of the International Reports on Abuse: An Inescapable Challenge for the Reform of the Catholic Church Part 3: Abuses in Religious Institutions: Congregations, New Religious Movements and Parishes 12. Priests Abusing Sisters, and Abuses in Women’s Religious Orders/Congregations 13. Sodalitium Christianae Vitae: The Much-Publicized Scandal of Sexual and Power Abuse in the Peruvian Catholic Church 14. The Karadima Case in Chile: Ecclesial Crisis Due to Abuses 15. From the Comunidad de Jerusalem to Las Misioneras de Cristo Resucitado: Abuse, Trial, Expulsion from the Country, and Resilience in a Religious Community Founded in Uruguay 16. Abusive Dynamics and Institutional Systems Prone to Abuse in Charismatic Communities Founded in Europe with Strong Roots in Latin America 17. Abuses in Parishes: The Case of a Peruvian Parish in a Suburban Poor Area Part 4: Victims’ Resilience 18. From Victims to Survivors: Assessing Victims’ Suffering 19. Reparation, Restorative Justice and Both the Subjective and Social Need for Truth, Recognition and Justice Commissions in Latin-America 20. New Ecclesial Deal: Preventing Abuses in the Latin American Church