International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 3 2022 8
Movement (the Children of God).16
4.2. Church: The Roman Catholic Church
An immense body of academic, journalistic,
autobiographical and government literature exists
covering child sexual abuses within the Roman
Catholic Church in numerous locations around the
world. Although a Canadian study about child sexual
abuse in St. John’s, Newfoundland at a local orphanage
was published in 1990 (Winter et al., 1990), much of
the North American public—and indeed the general
population of many countries—paid attention to such
crimes when, in 2002, the Boston Globe reported its
investigation into pervasive child sexual abuse in the
Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests.
The archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, and
his predecessors, had allowed priests to continue to
sexually abuse children after becoming aware of the
misconduct when allegations started to surface (Dale &
Alpert, 2007). Prior to this national and international
exposure, some academics (for example, Sipe 1995)
and investigative journalists (for example, Berry,
1992) already had published books detailing what
had occurred in a number of dioceses. In other cases,
local newspapers had reported incidents within their
communities. None of this material had reached a large
audience, though, and had little to no impact on the
Church. The Globe’s investigation brought worldwide
attention to the issue—as did the Internet (Podles,
2008).
We do not provide a history of the abuses nor, do
we catalogue the cases and statistics (see Wright,
16 Generally, church refers to large organized religions that count
the masses of society as members. Usually they possess a great deal of
power within society or formerly did and now are integrated without much
tension. Examples include Roman Catholicism and the Church of England.
Denominations typically are accommodating of society (although not
always) and are not cohesive enough or large enough to dominate society.
Examples include Protestant and Jewish reform religions. Sects, having split
from mainstream religions, are insular, distancing themselves from society.
Typically, they offer what they identify to be uniquely legitimate truths.
Structurally, they are conservative and demand high levels of commitment.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists and the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter- day Saints (Mormons) all are Christian sects. Finally, cults are
unique religious movements having no official ties to organized religion.
Cult movements usually are high demand and frequently are socially
and sometimes geographically isolated from society. Cults (and sects)
often emerge around a (usually male) charismatic leader. Heaven’s Gate,
Scientology, the Order of the Solar Temple, and the Peoples Temple are
examples of cult movements. Worth noting also is that despite the scholarly
legitimacy of the label ‘cult,’ many scholars of religion prefer the label ‘new
religious movement’ or simply ‘alternative religion,’ due to the pejorative
connotations the label ‘cult’ may infer. For a full discussion of religious
categorizations and typologies see McGuire, 2002.
Swain, &Sköld, 2017). Other research, reports, and
investigations have done so already (for example, see
Dale &Alpert, 2007 John Jay College of Criminal
Justice, 2004 Keenan, 2012 Pilgrim, 2018). Rather, we
focus on the quite unique power and status that priests
enjoy within the Catholic faith and how this prestige is
integral to the grooming process.17 As Pilgrim (2018)
discusses, Catholic priests and other figures of standing
in Catholicism command an “ingrained reverence” that
“put[s] religious staff beyond critical scrutiny” (Pilgrim,
2018, p. 65) similarly, Shupe identifies this veneration
as “the iron law of clergy elitism” (Shupe, 2007, p. 56).
Clearly, this elevated standing has implications at the
level of grooming. Moreover, the structural conditions
of Catholicism offer protection through a “subculture
of secrecy concerning sexual abuse” (White and Terry,
2008, p. 672 see McAlinden, 2012) that priests and
others can capitalize on during the grooming process.
Research details how priests, and in some cases nuns,
progressed from spending time with children, making
them feel special, to touching, and then sexual assault.
In one case, Jeanne M. Miller describes how her
13-year-old son—an altar boy—caught the attention
of their local associate parish priest. The priest invited
him and three other altar boys to a lakeside cottage
for two days. Miller explains that she was thrilled
that her son—who wanted to become a priest—had
this opportunity (Miller, 1998). Several weeks later,
Miller and her husband heard from one of the other
boy’s parents that the priest had made sexual advances
towards the boys. First, he gave the boys alcohol,
played pornographic movies,18 and permitted the boys
to drive both his speedboat and his car. He indicated
to them that they were mature enough to do so and
that he understood them better than their parents
did. Miller reflects, “the boys knew that Father had
his authority from God. We, the parents, had taught
them that” (Miller, 1998, p. 156). Though the people
involved and the specific details vary, Miller’s account
is reflective of common themes: the importance of
priests in Catholic communities and the absolute trust
bestowed upon them by parents, children, and others.
In the United States, most cases have involved clergy
17 The 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report investigating six
dioceses in that state contains numerous specific references to priests
grooming their child victims.
18 “The use of pornography or sexually explicit imagery often has
a role to play in the sequential process of grooming” (McAlinden, 2012, p.
9).

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0003 9
(priests, deacons, and bishops— but especially priests)
and victims from among their congregants. In other
cases, the abuse has occurred in Catholic schools,
Catholic orphanages, and, in Canada, in residential
schools (Doyle &Rubino, 2004).
In their research into sexually abusive priests, Thomson,
Marolla, and Bromley (1998) identified that priests
use what the authors term “credentialing disclaimers”
in order to legitimate behaviors that could potentially
discredit them. Hence, when victims questioned
priests about the sexual acts, the priests legitimated
them as having “divine approval” (Thomson et al.,
1998, p. 177) that need not be explained to outsiders
(Thomson et al., 1998), thus ensuring compliance
for sexual abuse (and as we argue, for the grooming
process). Moreover, as the authors note, Catholic
children are “unlikely to challenge such authoritative
pronouncements” (Thomson et al., 1998, p. 186).
Doyle and Rubino report that protracted periods of
grooming occur in most Catholic sexual abuse cases
(Doyle and Rubino, 2004) and that although clerical
abuse “is always an aggressive act,” many offending
clerics do not acknowledge the aggression inherent to
the grooming of children—in some cases, even viewing
it as beneficial to children (Doyle and Rubino, 2004, p.
562). This rationalization may exemplify the process of
self-grooming (Craven et al., 2006).
Podles19 (2008, p. 5) notes that in Catholic school
settings, the physical abuse of children “prepares
victims for sexual abuse” through “intimidation.”
Moreover, in his thorough and unremitting catalogue
of sexual abuse cases, he found numerous forms of
grooming tactics, including normalizing physical
contact and creating secrecy around prohibited
behaviors. Moreover, Catholic families clearly have
been trusting of the institution and of individual priests
to the extent that environmental grooming is evident.
In some cases, priests would overcome the boys’
inhibitions to create a “transgressive spirit” using
drugs, alcohol, and pornographic materials in addition
19 Podles’s book, Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, is
a deliberately detailed and comprehensive account of the numerous sexual,
physical, emotional, and spiritual violations that priests and other clergy
perpetrated against children in the United States. A practicing Catholic,
Podles wants readers to understand the full extent of the violence and pain
children endured in addition to the extent of the church’s reprehensible
actions in failing to act. This book identifies many examples of grooming
and abuse.
to capitalizing on the boys’ natural physical urges
(Podles, 2008, pp. 48, 253). Some priests even had
the boys steal small items so that their morality was
compromised further. These forms of grooming also
fostered a sense of co- conspiracy in the boys, thus
ensuring their silence (Podles, 2008 see Lanning,
2005). Nudity (Podles, 2008), touching, masturbation
(Podles, 2008), and nude swimming (Podles, 2008),
all are examples of grooming techniques and, in some
cases, the priests framed the abuse as “sex education”
or “counseling” (Podles, 2008, pp. 253-255). All of
these (and many other) activities took place in secret
and were legitimated with religious narratives. The
grooming and abuse sometimes involved multiple
boys simultaneously, and priests groomed the boys so
effectively that one victim stated that the molestations
were a regular part of what being an altar boy meant.
He said, “‘I thought it was normal’” (quoted in Podles,
2008, pp. 254-255).
The Catholic Church is an extremely hierarchal
institution that is very much integrated into many
communities globally. Priests mediate Catholics’
relationships with God, thus they occupy immense
positions of trust—positions that in some cases afford
“opportunity structures” (Shupe, 2007, p. 6) for
grooming. Their authority is unquestionable, allowing
them to offer explanations— or, religious legitimations
(McGuire, 2008) for their behaviors. Obedience to
religious authority characterizes the hierarchy (Shupe,
2007) where children have no power. Fearful of
disobeying God (and his representatives—priests) and
mindful of otherworldly punishments—going to hell—
children are especially vulnerable to manipulation. To
question that which has been bestowed with religious
meaning and significance often may be difficult if not
impossible.
4.3. Protestant Denominations
Since the initial exposure and the ongoing revelations
of the extent of child sexual abuse (and the official
cover-up thereof) within the Roman Catholic Church,
it may appear that it is the ‘worst offender’ at the level
of mainstream religions. These abuses, however, have
resulted in an increased focus on Protestant Churches
in the United States in an attempt to assess their child
sexual abuse rates very little research exists, with most
information coming from the media and insurance