Frawley-O'Dea, Mary Gail, 1950-

Perversion of power : Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church / Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea. - Nashville : Vanderbilt University Press, 2007. - xv, 320 p. ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliogr. references (p. 267-304) and index.

From the Bayou to Boston: a developing pattern - Surviving soul murder - Suffering, submission, and sadomasochism - Embodied and gendered souls - Degraded sexual desire and theologized sex - Celibate sexuality and sexually active "celibates" - Homosexuality: secreted and scapegoated - Where were the pastors? - Clerical narcissism - Perpetrators, priests, people in the pews - The secret is revealed - Epilogue: Is everything old new again?.

0826515460 (cloth : alk. paper) 0826515479 (pbk. : alk. paper)


Catholic Church--Clergy--Sexual behavior.


Child sexual abuse by clergy.