Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of the problem of child-abusing priests in the Catholic Church using data from the USA, UK and Ireland. The apparent scale of this issue raises crucial theoretical as well as policy issues. This paper explores various organizational explanations, linking it to traditional methods of ‘confessional control’ of organizational members. This is a novel concept which brings the issue into a wider organizational lens. Confessional control creates a series of guilt-laden identities that serve to maintain hierarchical control as well as social inclusion. Thus the process of recycling priests was part of a long-persisting pattern applied to child abuse cases. The theoretical implications of this are explored. The data consists of a series of cases across the three countries, partly drawn from a data-base of 4,000 alleged cases.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 14 Aug 2006 |
| Event | Academy of Management 2006: Knowledge, Action and the Public Concern - Atlanta, United States Duration: 11 Aug 2006 → 16 Aug 2006 Conference number: 66 https://effectuation.org/hubfs/Journal%20Articles/2017/06/Knowledge-Action-1.pdf |
Conference
| Conference | Academy of Management 2006 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | AOM 2006 |
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Atlanta |
| Period | 11/08/06 → 16/08/06 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- organizational control
- confession
- church organization
