scholarly journals Trauma, Motive and the Post-Troubles Psychopath in The Fall

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-46
Author(s):  
Ruth Barton

This article discusses the depiction of the serial killer, Paul Spector, in the BBC/RTÉ television series The Fall (2013–2016). It complements existing scholarship on the series’ female detective by considering how Spector’s construction as a Gothic villain and victim of institutional abuse inflects The Fall’s positioning as a transnational genre production. It focuses on the use of Belfast as a setting, taking into account its historical positioning as a “Noir” city, and discusses the series’ spatial politics in the context of the city’s more recent history of sectarian divisions. It places the “explanation” for Spector’s criminal activities in the context of the narrativization of clerical sexual abuse as specifically associated with the Irish Catholic church, and outlines the narrative turns the series is forced to take to reach its generically inflected conclusion. The discussion focuses on seasons one and two of The Fall as the most significant in terms of meaning-making.

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Perillo ◽  
Cynthia Calkins Mercado ◽  
Karen J. Terry

Despite wide reports of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, empirical data on Catholic Church sexual abuse have not been readily available. The present study examines factors associated with sex-offender risk assessment along three criteria (repeat offending, victim gender, and victim relationship) on a sample of sexual abusers in the Catholic Church. Data from 4,392 priests with documented allegations of child sexual abuse were used. Logistic regression analysis resulted in significant predictive models for all comparisons. Factors consistently found to be significant predictors across comparisons included victim age, cleric age, all male victims, and history of victimization. Results suggest that risk predictors for Catholic Church sexual abusers are similar to those used in the general sex-offender population.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi Death

This paper considers constructions of institutional culture and power in the cover-up of child sexual abuse (CSA) by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church of Australia. The issue of cover-up has previously been considered in international inquiries as an institutional failing that has caused significant harm to victims of CSA by Catholic Clergy. Evidence given by select representatives of the Catholic Church in two government inquiries into institutional abuse carried out in Australia is considered here. This evidence suggests that, where cover-up has occurred, it has been reliant on the abuse of institutional power and resulted in direct emotional, psychological and spiritual harm to victims of abuse. Despite international recognition of cover-up as institutional abuse, evidence presented by Roman Catholic Representatives to the Victorian Inquiry denied there was an institutionalised cover-up. Responding to this evidence, this paper queries whether the primary foundation of cover-up conforms to the ‘bad apple theory’ in that it relates only to a few individuals, or the ‘bad barrel theory’ of institutional structure and culture.


2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 572-589
Author(s):  
Massimo Faggioli

The sexual abuse crisis has long-term consequences: not only on the victims and survivors of abuse, but also on the theological standing and balance of the Catholic Church throughout the world. Theological rethinking in light of the abuse crisis is necessary: not only from the lens of those who have suffered, but also from the lens of the changes caused by this global crisis in the history of the whole Catholic community. The article examines the consequences of the abuse crisis on different theological disciplines, with particular attention to the history of the Catholic Church, liturgy, ecclesiology of reform, and church–state relationships.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Lynch

This paper argues that for religion, social inclusion is not certain once gained, but needs to be constantly renegotiated in response to continued challenges, even for mainstream religious organisations such as the Catholic Church. The paper will analyse the Catholic Church’s involvement in the Australian public sphere, and after a brief overview of the history of Catholicism’s struggle for equal status in Australia, will consider its response to recent challenges to maintain its position of inclusion and relevance in Australian society. This will include an examination of its handling of sexual abuse allegations brought forward by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and its attempts to promote its vision of ethics and morals in the face of calls for marriage equality and other social issues in a society of greater religious diversity.


Author(s):  
Sarah Caldwell

ABSTRACT: This article suggests two apparently contradictory theses: namely that Swami Muktananda (1908––1982) was an enlightened teacher and practitioner of an esoteric form of Tantric sexual yoga, and that he also engaged in actions that were not ethical, legal, or liberatory with many disciples. These two theses are brought into creative tension through a developing Tantric hermeneutic. In discussing secrecy and power, the article addresses critical cultural, feminist, and psychological issues about sexual abuse and the importation of Asian religious traditions into contemporary American society, and argues that what has happened in the recent history of Siddha Yoga arises directly out of Tantra's long history of dissimulation and secrecy. I suggest that a hybrid scholarly sensibility might emerge out of the secret heart of the Tantric teachings, itself offering a way forward in the study of such traditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (313) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Hubert Wolf

Esta contribuição pretende demonstrar que, na História da Igreja católica, a junção entre celibato e sacerdócio nunca foi absoluta e que, portanto, a ordenação de homens casados, que se espera seja deliberada pelo Papa e pelos Bispos no próximo Sínodo Pan-amazônico, não significa uma ruptura com a Tradição eclesliástica. Com efeito, o celibato sacerdotal não é nem um preceito divino, nem uma ordem de Cristo, nem uma disposição apostólica, mas sim, o resultado de uma contínua avaliação custo-benefício. Em perspectiva sincrônica e diacrônica, o Autor ilustra a evolução histórica da junção entre celibato e sacerdócio, chegando à conclusão de que a verdadeira mudança histórica na legislação referente ao celibato aconteceu em 1917. Em seis teses ele demonstra que os argumentos aduzidos em favor do celibato sacerdotal, aos quais a Igreja, no decorrer dos séculos, recorreu e sempre lançou mão de um novo toda vez que um antigo já não convencia, estão quase superados. Na verdade, do ponto de vista do custo-benefício o problema da drástica carência de padres bem como o dos escândalos dos abusos sexuais pedem que a Igreja, finalmente, tome posição em favor da ordenação de homens casados. Isso, tanto para prevenir possíveis fatores de risco decorrentes da obrigação da vida celibatária, quanto para aumentar o número de padres, para que os fiéis de todos os lugares e com mais frequência possam celebrar a Eucaristia, para onde converge e de onde emana toda a ação da Igreja.Abstract: This contribution intends to show that in the history of the Catholic Church the connection between celibacy and priesthood has never been absolute and therefore the ordination of married men - that we hope will be discussed by the Pope and by Bishops in the forthcoming Pan-Amazonian Synod - does not mean a rupture with the ecclesiastical Tradition. Indeed, the priests’ celibacy is neither a divine precept, nor one of Christ’s commandment nor an apostolic disposition but rather the result of a continuous cost-benefit evaluation. In a synchronic and diachronic perspective, the Author illustrates the historical evolution of the connection between celibacy and priesthood, coming to the conclusion that the true historical change in the legislation with regard to celibacy happened in 1917. In six thesis he shows that the arguments put forward in favour of the priests’ celibacy, arguments to which the Church, for centuries, has appealed (and always put forward a new one whenever one of the old ones was no longer persuasive enough) are almost obsolete. In fact, from a cost-benefit point of view, the problem of the drastic shortage of priests as well as the sexual abuse scandals demand that the Church will finally take a position in favour of the married men’s ordination. And this is so both in order to prevent possible risks resulting from the celibate life and to increase the number of priests so that the faithful from all areas may more often celebrate the Eucharist to where converges and from where emanates all the actions of the Church.Keywords: Catholic church; Priesthood; Celibacy; Apostolic tradition; Viri probati. 


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Chris Miller

The sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic Church in recent decades has resulted in one major unintended casualty: creating a skeptical distance in the relationship between adult leaders and youth. This article provides a short history of the abuse scandal in the US and discusses the reforms and repercussions of the Dallas Charter, in conjunction with the relationships between adult leaders and youth. By incorporating the five aspects of the Developmental Relationships Framework into youth programs, ministers and volunteers will have the means to provide tangible action items for developing positive relationships with young people. These five items include expressing care, challenging growth, providing support, sharing power, and expanding possibilities.


2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 343-353
Author(s):  
Clint Le Bruyns

AbstractThis article explores the relationship and interaction between the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelicals as a test case for religious dialogue in general. Apart from the more recent history of this dialogue the article also identifies a numbers of threats to the search for approchement amidst diversity.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Meyer ◽  
Meghan Marty ◽  
Andrea June ◽  
Daniel L. Segal
Keyword(s):  

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