Time to Listen : Confronting Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy in Ireland. Executive Summary

The overall aim of the study was twofold. Firstly, since this is an issue with international relevance, an important aim was to extend scientific knowledge about the impact of child sexual abuse by clergy beyond the individual in order to assess its impact on all of those likely to be affected. These range from the family of the abused, convicted members of clergy and their families and colleagues, clergy and Church personnel and the wider Church community. The second broad aim was to understand clerical child sexual abuse in the Irish context - what were the salient factors convering its occurrence and management and how can this information be used to inform practice in the future.