At the turn of the millennium, the crisis of sexual abuse changed the
societal landscape, first disclosed in the western and English-speaking
world and found to be problematic everywhere. A growing awareness of its
epic proportions – from the recognition in the 1970s of the prevalence
and lasting harm of incest to the uncovering of sexual abuse by clergy
to the #MeToo movement’s spotlight on abuse in various sectors – has
called attention to the suffering of victims.





Although sexual abuse is not exclusively an internal matter of the
Church, this book limits its scope to the abuse that happened to
children and young people within the context of the Catholic Church. The
Church has to respond to the many questions raised by this terrible
reality; its leaders and all faithful have to put victims first and
proactively engage in safe-guarding minors in the present and the
future.











This is the first publication in the book series of the Centre for Child
Protection (CCP). The CCP, which is part of the Institute of Psychology
of the Pontifical Gregorian University, aims at preventing sexual abuse
of minors and vulnerable people through formation and scientific
research.