Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church's 2,000 Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse

by Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. Richard Sipe, Patrick J. Wall

Sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by Catholic clergy burst onto the American scene in 1984. Revelations about such abuse since then have confirmed that this tragedy is not limited to the U.S. Catholic Church, nor is it a new phenomenon that grew out of so-called secularizing trends of the late twentieth century. The Doyle-Sipe-Wall report clearly demonstrates a deep-seated problem that spans the Church's history. This collection of documents from official and unofficial sources begins its survey in 60 CE and concludes with the contemporary scandal. It reveals an institution that has tried to come to grips with this devastating internal problem from its earliest years. At times circumspect and at other times open and direct, Church leaders tried a variety of means to rein in the various violations of clerical celibacy. The sexual abuse crisis is not isolated from the questions of the celibate practice of all Catholic clergy and the moral questions that involve marriage and all human sexual behaviors. These are the main, yet unspoken, reasons why sexual abuse has been such an inflammatory and dangerous issue for the hierarchy. The Church abuse scandal of the contemporary era, rather than seen as a new challenge, is actually the catalyst for a complex process that is forcing the official Church to redefine its ideology of sexuality, its responsibility to its members and its role in society. The three distinguished authors have served as experts and consultants in over 1,000 cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, and have collectively spent over 70 years of official service within the church.

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Christianity, Politics, Crime

388 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Madeline Dutro · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone captivated by the movies Spotlight (2015) or Doubt (2008), for anyone concerned about this phenomena of abusive priests, for anyone who has suffered at the hands of a clerical authority, I cannot recommend this book enough.

While at first glance, the title of the book looks so sensational as to be a farce, I have to admit that it is remarkably apt and comprehensive in describing the subject matter. For within its pages is damning evidence confirming that for hundreds of years, the Catholic church has at best, been struggling to address the problem of abusive priests and at worst, entirely complicit in perpetuating the abuse of children.

While mostly clinical in its dissection of Vatican statutes and canons related to the issue, there are many points where powerful anecdotes are shared. And indeed, there is a small section at the back devoted solely to publishing letters from church officials attempting to prevent transfers of offending priests and make their superiors aware of the moral failings of these men.

All in all, a comprehensive look at the forces that make this a systemic issue, and what steps can be taken to prevent it from continuing.

[booklady]

Bought this for my husband for his birthday three years ago. The author of this book was our pastor from 1998-2001, the years before the priest scandal 'broke'. He told us it was going to happen before it did. He and my husband are good friends and he was instrumental in my husband becoming Catholic.

[Meghann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I'll admit that I started reading this for work on a case, but it's still fascinating - and horrifying. I think it should be required reading for all Catholics.

[Monica Zeringue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched, informative, and a necessary read for all, especially loyal Catholics.

[Charles Reimler · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Matt Champagne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could barely get through it. Not because of the subject matter, but because of the tedium. I do love reading about the corruption of the Catholic church though. It's so fun!

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN IMPORTANT STUDY OF THE CATHOLIC SEXUAL ABUSE ISSUE

A. W. Richard Sipe (born 1932) is a former Benedictine monk-priest of 18 years (he resigned his priesthood, and is now married), a sociologist and author/coauthor of books such as 'A Secret World: Sexuality And The Search For Celibacy' and 'Sex, Priests, And Power: Anatomy Of A Crisis.' Patrick Wall was a priest and Benedictine monk for ten years, but was laicized in 1998 and is now married. Fr. Thomas P. Doyle has worked extensively with victims of clergy sex abuse, and has received several awards for his work.

Sipe states in the Preface to this 2006 book, "this book... demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt that the sexual abuse of minors by priests is not a recent of a local phenomenon... Unfortunately this crime... has been an open wound on the Body of Christ for as far back as records are kept... It lays bare the extent of clerical child abuse, the harm that betrayal and abuse inflicts on its victims, and the utter failure of the hierarchy to properly manage the priest perpetrators or provide succor to the children. But this book is not an assault on the Catholic Church...

"This book is written with anguish for the sufferings of the children abused and the harm that is being done to their church, not just by the modest proportion of priests who commit these crimes, but also by the bishops who failed in their fundamental duty to protect the faithful... Nor is this book an attack upon celibacy. The authors... respect it as a well-worthwhile and sanctifying living style for those who choose to live it successfully... However, research indicates that a majority of Catholic clergymen do not live up to this ideal... [The book] describes the clerical network that enables the abuse to be perpetrated...." (Pg. ix-x)

They note, "The public exposure of clergy sexual abuse of youth that began in the mid-1980s was mistakenly believed by many to be a new phenomenon, which of course it was not. Yet... the Vatican issued no disciplinary documents until 2001... this was the first attempt by the Vatican to take concrete steps to contain the problem.

"The 2001 document reflects... significant developments however: The bishop or other superior of an alleged perpetrator of sexual abuse was obliged to send the results of his preliminary investigation to the Vatican, and officials there would decide if the case would be processed in the Vatican or returned to the local diocese for prosecution... The canonical age of a minor was raised from 16 to 18... The statute of limitations was extended to ten years...The Pontifical Secret... was imposed on all officials connected to any cases, but no mention was made of imposing the secret on accusers or witnesses." (Pg. 51-52)

They observe, "The vast majority of homosexually oriented priests do not abuse minors. However, the question of homosexuality is sometimes confused with the issue of sexual abuse of minors also because a disproportionate number of the victims of clerical sexual abuse are male minors. Some clinicians report that 90 percent of the sexual victims of priests are male; others put the percentage at closer to 70 percent... by all accounts ... priests molest a larger percentage of minor boys than do abusers in the general population." (Pg. 211)

They also point out, "The histories of many priest abusers record that they were abused in their childhood by an adult, and a large number of those adults were priests or religious brothers. A significant number of priests introduce candidates for the priesthood to sex. In fact, 10 percent of priests report that they had some sexual contact with a priest or fellow seminarian in the course of their studies. Such activity forms a basis for a network of priests aware of each other's personal sexual proclivities and behavior. This forms a formal and informal tangle of possible blackmail." (Pg. 213)

This book is a significant study of the issue of Catholic clergy sexual abuse, and will be of great interest to anyone studying the issue.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the historical foundations of child sexual abuse that this book discusses, and explanations of canonical law, and what the responsibility would be of bishops and church hierarchy are towards priests who molest and rape children. This very detailed exposition makes it clear that the extent of clergy sex abuse, and ongoing coverup by the Church hierarchy, is even worse and more pervasive than media accounts portray.

The authors advocate a method of wholesale reform, perhaps even reformation, so that the Church may heal, clergy and laiety alike. They come at it as devout Catholics who love their faith and Church, and want healing for all.

I do not feel much hope for their mission, given the sickness entrenched in the Church, and perhaps I don't feel the rotten, broken institution should survive. But that's not my call as an outsider.

It's a very tough, painful read, but I'm glad I read it. It seemed important to me to understand how a huge system could create, aide and protect so many criminals, and yet consider itself to be on the moral high ground.

If you happen to be Catholic and want to preserve your Church, I think it's a must-read book.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply disturbing but fascinating read, Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes is a much needed book. Overwhelmingly it is a story of institutional cowardice.

“Certainly, the vast majority of Catholic priests do not sexually abuse minors. But, because the consequences of the abuse of a child by a person holding spiritual power is so dire and long-lasting, even a small proportion of perpetrators within ministry is a matter of extreme public interest and urgency. Moreover, the fact that such abuse occurs in other parts of society does not lessen the need for responsible action by…Catholic bishops in regard to their own priests, bishops, and lay members of their church.

“By de facto tolerating such abuse while at the same time proclaiming the sexual safety of its members, a situation is created that restricts the ability of the authorities to properly supervise and investigate priests who abuse children and discipline them when they are found guilty. Bishops are not alone in hiding abusive bishops and priests; priests do not expose brother priests they know to be abusing minors.” (p. 82)

Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. Richard Sipe, and Patrick J. Wall gives the reader a well-researched account of the Catholic Church’s cover-ups of sexual misconduct by clergy, along with carefully-reasoned solutions for reducing and ending the problem in the modern-day. The abuse of children, the sheer scope of which was first brought to light by American journalists in the early 2000s, has gone on for centuries and in many different countries. While the authors are clear that their purpose was not to challenge the requirement of clerical celibacy, it is obviously necessary to end this policy to truly reform the church.

Not only is abstaining from sex and romantic relationships unnatural to most human beings—and almost certainly psychologically harmful—historical accounts show that clerical celibacy has never been consistently enforced or adhered to by the spiritual officials of the Catholic Church. Hearteningly, most of the priests, bishops, monks, and other clergy members on record violated their vow of celibacy by engaging in consensual relationships with other adults. Doyle, Sipe, and Wall give evidence that this is still the case, with the Church as an institution enforcing a code of secrecy about the private sexual lives of its representatives. Horribly, this code has also been applied to priests and others sexually abusing children, adding up to thousands of documented cases where victims have been shamed into silence and then the abuser being shopped to a different parish with the hope he won’t harm any more children.

“Although more than 1,000 civil and criminal cases alleging the sexual abuse of minors have been lodged against the Catholic Church and its representatives in the United States over the last decade and a half, few have made it to trial. The pattern throughout the country is to settle victims’ claims before they come to trial. Trials generate a good deal of publicity—often national—and most of it adverse to the Catholic Church. The facts laid out before judges and juries with all the corroborating documented evidence projects a portrait of churchmen mired in conspiracy and neglect. The church is always eager to contain these negative images as much as it possibly can. Although settlements have been as high as $5.2 million and $7.5 million for some individual victims, settlements rather than court hearings are generally more economical and preferred by bishops.” (p. 175).

As dark as this material is, the authors give reason for hope:

“This is, in fact, a glad book. It signals the end of an era. It reveals in a comprehensive way and for the first time the enormity of the crime of sexual abuse of children by priests and bishops and the failure of the hierarchy to handle it properly. But, most importantly, it describes the clerical network that enables the abuse to be perpetrated. When clergy sex abuse is sealed under wraps, it festers and breeds; when it is brought into the light of day, it withers” (p. 5).

As a word of warning, this can be a difficult read in terms of the book’s complexity. Chapter Four, titled "The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy: Meeting the Problem in a Comprehensive and Responsible Manner" (p. 99), is especially tough going if you are not a student of the law — you can get all the information you need from reading the foreword and the conclusion.

Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes is not a comfortable read, emotionally or intellectually—but discomfort is exactly the point. The Catholic Church's institutional failure to protect children didn't happen in the dark; it happened in plain sight, rationalized and hidden behind centuries of coded silence. Doyle, Sipe, and Wall have done the hard work of pulling that silence apart. Anyone who cares about accountability, justice, or the welfare of children owes it to themselves to engage with what they found.



[Image: Book Cover]

Citation:
Doyle, T. P., Sipe, A.W.R., & Wall,, P.J. (2016). Sex, priests, and secret codes: The Catholic Church's 2,000 year paper trail of sexual abuse (Kindle Edition). Crux Publishing. https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Priests-Se.... (Original work published 2005)

Title: Sex, Priests, and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church's 2,000 Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse
Author(s): Thomas P. Doyle, A.W. Richard Sipe, & Patrick J. Wall
Year: 2016 edition, originally published in 2005
Genre: Nonfiction - History, Religion, & Religious Criticism
Page count: 340 pages
Date(s) read: 2/6/26 - 2/8/26
Book 30 in 2026

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad and sordid tale of the church more interested in protecting it's good name and avoiding scandal, than in the welfare of it's members. Three authors, all Catholic, take the church to task for protecting sexual abusers and re-victimizing the victims. Using church documents and letters (most subpoenaed for civil court cases) the authors make a convincing case against the bishops of the Catholic Church in the US for failing to uphold civil and canon law and allowing vulnerable children to be abused. It is estimated that ten per cent of Catholic priests in the US are guilty of abusing children sexually. Priests who abused children were transferred from one unsuspecting parish to another and victims were asked to forgive the abuse and keep it secret to avoid scandal and bad publicity for the church. Surely there must be a special place in hell for the people who were involved, not only in the abuse, but also the attempted cover-up.

[Sebastián Jaén · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deceiving title but useful book anyway

This book is a collection of chapters that do not follow an apparent order or try to reach an specific reader. However, some information is useful and illustrative besides of being so tedious. The title is a very Comerctial one designed to catch the reader but what you find is a collection of scholarly written chapters that seemed drafts or exerts from different books. The main point about the systemic nature of the sexual scandals is poorly described, although is mentioned. The book is boring and hard to read. The chapter 4th and the letters to me were absolutely unnecessary. I think the book is a promising draft of a text that should be read by every catholic.

[Gemma-louise Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavily detailed and unfulfilling

This book was very detailed - at times it was difficult to concentrate because of all of the church terminology etc. For some reason, I expected more from the book too - somewhat disappointed. The authors should have included victims encounters to back up everything. Not a easy read.

[Otto Cornejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not an overview of the recent event of the last two decades but more about the history of abuse and the coverup, and the ramification of abuse on the victims. Tough read but well worth it for those of us who are devastated and angered about what has happened (and IS happening).

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very dry. It might have helped if I grew up or was involved in the Catholic religion; as I do not understand the structure of the church at all. It also felt very weird and uncomfortable to have a chapter about healing for the victims.

[Arianne X · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Problem is with Catholic Belief Itself

There are two separate issues here. One is the disgusting pedophilia itself. Separately, why is it that the Catholic Church cannot police this abuse? It is this second question that I would like to explore in this review. The first question is easily answered by looking at the cloistered character structure of the Catholic clergy and the systematic repression of sexuality which gives rise to unhappy, neurotic men responsible for aggression, sadism and a desire for for domination in place of normal sexual gratification. It is this repressive system that in some cases attracts, and in some cases creates, these neurotic and sadist men.

As to the pedophilia itself, the twisted logic of the Church claims that homosexuality, not the fact of unnatural male celibacy, is the cause of child molestation. In reality, the condition which most encourages sexual molestation of children is the prohibition of normal and natural sex with adults.

The Catholic Church cannot curb or police sex abuse due to its own theology. The problem is that Church doctrine states that once a priest is ordained, it does not matter whether he sins; for he can still administer the sacraments because the powers conferred on him by ordination exist independently of his fallen human nature. He is ‘in persona Christi’, not the fallen human being, when administering the sacraments. Once he is ordained, it does not matter what sins he commits, he is still conferred with the power to administer the sacraments. The people who most believe in this absurd doctrine are those in the hierarchy of the Church precisely because they believe this and other absurd Church doctrines that are too long to list here. In other words, the metaphysical nature of the ordination overrides the physical nature of the molestation. This doctrine is as absurd in principle as it is wretched in practice.

When viewed from this distorted frame of reference, it is easy to see why the Catholic Church is incapable of ending the abuse, toto caelo, and how it is actually rational within the destructive logic of Church doctrine for the leadership to protect its pedophile priests. In the guise of ‘in personsa Christi’ the priest performs the miracle of transubstantiation on every occasion that he performs a mass. Under the spell of such thinking, atrocities, no matter how debauched, ultimately outrage nothing because there is no real death. The true crime is to believe this nonsense. The true miracle is that anyone does believe this.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus wept

Suffer the little children to come to me. This is a powerful exposition of both clerical violations against celibacy and the until recently hidden history of sexual abuse of children, especially male children. Beginning with an extensive overview of the Church's struggles with dealing with clerical ignoring the vows of maintaining celibacy almost from the beginning of Church history, it spends most of the book on recent history. I don't believe in bell, but I pray there is a special place in eternity foot these corruptions of the innocentm

[Sahara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely read the book and really despise all religious institutions that "need" insane wealth to cover their fat asses

[Rebecca Hamilton]

I reserved this at the library, finally received it and just couldn't bring myself to read it. Too depressing ... discouraging.

[Keenan Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand how and why priest sexual abuse of children occurs, you should read this book.

[Kerry Putman]

I could not finish this book. I expected a history of the failure of the rule of priestly celibacy, but that was really only the first chapter. The remainder of what I read was a repetitive and poorly edited discussion of civil and cannon law. I gave up about half-way through.