Clergy have a uniquely intimate place in the lives of people of faith: present at baptisms, weddings, sick beds, and funerals. They’re with us when we’re at our worst and at our best, and life’s highs and lows. And while most clergy view this as a sacred trust with parishioners, others—as we have learned—sadly use that access and trust to abuse children.

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., joins us to discuss a research study that moves beyond news accounts, books, and movies to explore critical questions when working with survivors of clergy abuse. How is survivors’ belief in God affected by the abuse? And how does that impact resilience? How is their trust in institutions affected? How does that impact their access to the very social and community supports needed to heal from that abuse? And most importantly, how do we walk besides these survivors in their own healing journey even as we struggle with our own feelings about faith and faith communities?

Topics in this episode:

• Research decisions (1:37)
• Similarities and differences (5:03)
• Impact on belief (9:43)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (15:25)
• Entrapment (18:19)
• Implications for clergy and the church (20:26)
• Future research (23:51)
• What survivors need (25:44)
• Reason to hope (31:17)

Links:

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., clinical psychologist; assistant research scientist, Family Translational Research Group at NYU Dentistry Center for Oral Health Policy and Management

“An Exploratory Study on Mental Health, Social Problems and Spiritual Damage in Victims of Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy and Other Perpetrators,” N. Pereda, L. Contreras Taibo, A. Segura Montagut, F. Maffioletti, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 31(2):1-19. DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2022.2080142, May 2022

Sherry Hamby, Ph.D., appeared on One in Ten on February 14, 2020. Her interview was later republished on August 6, 2020, as part of our “Best of the Best” series. “Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives”

Victoria Banyard, Ph.D.

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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