Book Review by Olszewski

Anyone who has ever wanted the media to report “the other side” of the sexual abuse crisis will find it in Gregory Erlandson and Matthew Bunson’s work, “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis.” It is more of a view than a side, as it is an apologia for Pope Benedict and his effort to seek healing for the abused and justice for those who harmed them and/or allowed the harm to continue. Often reading like a well-developed term paper, the book states the case for a caring, proactive church, particularly in the United States, in the more than eight years since the Dallas charter was written and implemented. Selected quotes from Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington are employed to make the authors’ case that the church in the U.S. is more vigilant and proactive church in preventing abuse and in reaching out to victims.

They are clear, however, in noting that clergy sexual abuse was not solely a U.S. problem but one that existed in the church throughout the world. Indeed, much attention is given, and documentation included, regarding the papal response to the crisis in Ireland.

In a chapter devoted to the existence of abuse throughout much of the church’s history, the authors contend that “sexual sins have always been present because they are part of our fallen nature.” They continue, “The historical efforts (to deal with abuse ‘mercifully’ and ‘justly’) are not the source of shame or failure by an ineffective church. Rather, they are a testament to the church’s commitment to living as we are called by Christ and to bringing reform in every age of the world.”

While Erlandson and Bunson have touched upon various elements of the scandal, some elements, such as the amount of money U.S. dioceses have paid to settle lawsuits with victims, are worthy of books themselves. Even the work of Pope Benedict warrants further study.

As long as readers understand that this isn’t as much about journalism as it is about stating another view of the abuse scandal and the church’s response to it, they will appreciate the book as a quick reference, with appendices, to what the pope and others have said about abuse and the church’s response to it. The authors, who maintain the “clergy sexual abuse crisis ... will most likely define the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI,” want readers to appreciate what the pope and other church leaders have done in responding to abusers and victims. It is likely that they will.

Olszewski is general manager of the Catholic Herald, publication of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.