ABSTRACT
In the winter of 2002, the Boston Globe published an unprecedented exposé on clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. Although this was not the first time U.S. Catholic priests were accused of sexual exploitation, this was the first time that substantive allegations of systemic complicity were levied publicly against the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States. During the weeks and months following the initial exposé, there was a swell of media attention, a growing public outcry, increasing litigation over alleged abuse and cover-ups, and the emergence of issue-driven grassroots organizations. Escalating public involvement with the issue of clergy sexual abuse challenged the U.S. Catholic bishops’ attempts to internalize and thus retain exclusive control of the situation.
