- Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Michael Andre Guerzoni
University of Tasmania, School of Social Sciences, Graduate Student
- Church Secrecy, Child protection, Clericalism, Situational Crime Prevention, Anglicanism (Anglicanism), Child abuse and neglect, and 10 moreChild Sexual Abuse, Sociology of Crime and Deviance, Political Economy, Roman Catholicism, Habitus, Organisational culture, Sociology of Religion, Clerical Life, Clergy, and Pastoral Care of Clergyedit
- Mike Guerzoni (PhD, University of Tasmania) is a Sociologist at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Mike's research examines clerical cultures, attitudes and practice towards child sexual abuse and child protection within Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism. More broadly, he is interested in organisational culture and dev... moreMike Guerzoni (PhD, University of Tasmania) is a Sociologist at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Mike's research examines clerical cultures, attitudes and practice towards child sexual abuse and child protection within Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism. More broadly, he is interested in organisational culture and deviance, situational crime prevention, Bourdieu's Theory of Practice, private religious confessions, and clerical life.edit
The sacrament of confession is criticised for impeding clerical reporting of information about child sexual abuse to authorities. The sacrament of confession is found within Catholicism and Anglicanism and imposes a ‘seal’ on priests,... more
The sacrament of confession is criticised for impeding clerical reporting of
information about child sexual abuse to authorities. The sacrament of confession
is found within Catholicism and Anglicanism and imposes a ‘seal’
on priests, forbidding them from ever revealing details of the sins confessed
to them. This creates a moral dilemma in cases of abuse: should the priest
obey canon or civil law? There have been recent efforts in Australian
Anglicanism to address this dilemma via canonical reform in 2014 and
2017. In light of these changes, this article examines the perspectives of
Anglican clergy in the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania towards the confessional
seal. Findings reveal that most clergy would not obey canon law and
ecclesiastical instructions about maintaining the confessional seal on the
grounds that this requirement contravenes their theological and moral
principles. The clergy also describe their approaches to responding to
information of harm revealed both in confessional and pastoral encounters,
demonstrating a desire to act in ways that assist all parties involved.
information about child sexual abuse to authorities. The sacrament of confession
is found within Catholicism and Anglicanism and imposes a ‘seal’
on priests, forbidding them from ever revealing details of the sins confessed
to them. This creates a moral dilemma in cases of abuse: should the priest
obey canon or civil law? There have been recent efforts in Australian
Anglicanism to address this dilemma via canonical reform in 2014 and
2017. In light of these changes, this article examines the perspectives of
Anglican clergy in the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania towards the confessional
seal. Findings reveal that most clergy would not obey canon law and
ecclesiastical instructions about maintaining the confessional seal on the
grounds that this requirement contravenes their theological and moral
principles. The clergy also describe their approaches to responding to
information of harm revealed both in confessional and pastoral encounters,
demonstrating a desire to act in ways that assist all parties involved.
Research Interests:
To date, a predominant focus within the field of ‘clerical collar crime’ has revolved around institutional-level church responses to child sexual abuse events, survivors and offenders. Comparatively, little attention has been directed... more
To date, a predominant focus within the field of ‘clerical collar crime’ has revolved around institutional-level church responses to child sexual abuse events, survivors and offenders. Comparatively, little attention has been directed towards the micro-level and in particular, examining clerical responses to child sexual abuse. This article presents empirical findings concerning the ‘everyday’ child protective practices of Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Research data was acquired through open-ended qualitative interviews conducted with a sample of 34 clergy in a broader study of clerical culture, habitus and life amidst the ‘church abuse crisis’. The framework of Situational Crime Prevention is employed to evaluate the feasibility of clergy’s child-safe practices and comment on how these practices could be further altered through professional development. Research findings demonstrate that clergy possess an active awareness of risk, and execute a series of protective measures to minimise both sexual interactions with children and allegations of impropriety.
Research Interests:
[Open Access, available at link below] This article presents empirical findings from a critical discourse analysis of institutional responses by the Catholic Church to clergy-child sexual abuse in Victoria, Australia. A sample of 28... more
[Open Access, available at link below]
This article presents empirical findings from a critical discourse analysis of institutional responses by the Catholic Church to clergy-child sexual abuse in Victoria, Australia. A sample of 28 documents, comprising 1,394 pages, is analysed in the context of the 2012-2013 Victorian Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations. Sykes and Matza’s (1957) and Cohen’s (1993) techniques of, respectively, neutralisation and denial are used to reveal the Catholic Church’s Janus-faced responses to clergy-child sexual abuse and mandatory reporting requirements. Paradoxical tensions are observed between Catholic Canonical law and clerical practices, and the extent of compliance with secular law and referral of allegations to authorities. Concerns centre on Church secrecy, clerical defences of the confessional in justification of inaction, and the Melbourne Response compensation scheme. Our research findings underscore the need for greater Church transparency and accountability; we advocate for mandatory reporting law reform and institutional reform, including adjustments to the confessional ritual.
This article presents empirical findings from a critical discourse analysis of institutional responses by the Catholic Church to clergy-child sexual abuse in Victoria, Australia. A sample of 28 documents, comprising 1,394 pages, is analysed in the context of the 2012-2013 Victorian Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations. Sykes and Matza’s (1957) and Cohen’s (1993) techniques of, respectively, neutralisation and denial are used to reveal the Catholic Church’s Janus-faced responses to clergy-child sexual abuse and mandatory reporting requirements. Paradoxical tensions are observed between Catholic Canonical law and clerical practices, and the extent of compliance with secular law and referral of allegations to authorities. Concerns centre on Church secrecy, clerical defences of the confessional in justification of inaction, and the Melbourne Response compensation scheme. Our research findings underscore the need for greater Church transparency and accountability; we advocate for mandatory reporting law reform and institutional reform, including adjustments to the confessional ritual.
Research Interests: Criminology, Law, Social Sciences, Victimology, Critical Criminology, and 15 moreCritical Discourse Analysis, Qualitative Research, Crime Prevention, Sex Offenders, Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, Child Sexual Abuse, Techniques of Neutralization, Clericalism, Stan Cohen, Church Secrecy, Cardinal George Pell, Child Abuse Inquiry, Clergy child sexual abuse, and Mandatory reporting
The study of institutional responses to child sexual abuse within Christian churches is a phenomenon difficult to study as churches are closed institutions—defensive amidst the present societal attention toward clerical abuse. Drawing... more
The study of institutional responses to child sexual abuse within Christian churches is a phenomenon difficult to study as churches are closed institutions—defensive amidst the present societal attention toward clerical abuse. Drawing from my experiences in a Criminology Honors program, this case study illustrates how Critical Discourse Analysis can be used to undertake research where access to participants/data is difficult due to being labeled as “high risk” or otherwise “sensitive” research. My honors research sought to test the presence of a causal connexion between certain components of Roman Catholicism (clerical exemption from mandatory reporting; the confessional seal) and church secrecy toward clergy-child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Critical Discourse Analysis was employed to analyze 28 documents from a governmental sexual abuse inquiry in Victoria, Australia. The analysis incorporated the frameworks of nation-state denial theory and techniques of neutralization to uncover patterns of secrecy and denial in the Church’s approaches, proposed and actual, to clergy-child sexual abuse as reported to the inquiry. This case study recounts my experiences of learning and “doing” Critical Discourse Analysis for the first time and overcoming self-doubt, as well as commends the use of the method in sociological research.