ABSTRACT
The international bibliography about sexual abuse, abuse of power, and abuse of conscience committed by members of the clergy of the Catholic Church is nowadays almost inexhaustible. This chapter highlights, first, the novelty, relevance, and variety of international reports produced by non-theological sciences that focus their analysis on the Catholic Church, its self-understanding, and its organizational praxis at different levels. In particular, the Chilean 2020 report is briefly highlighted here. These reports express, to a large extent, the experiences and voices of the victims. Second, this chapter argues how a transformation in the theological methodology enabled in Vatican II helps to answer the meaning of these reports. The chapter shows that at Vatican II, this new way of proceeding was proposed to rethink the constitution of the Church, and not only the themes of the so-called Social Doctrine. Therefore, these international reports pose an inescapable challenge not only to political societies, but also to Church governance and theological studies.
