ABSTRACT
This chapter tracks the effects of sexual abuse on boys, with particular attention to the aftermath of abuse by priests. Based on true events in a Newfoundland Catholic home for boys, it addresses sexual abuse of boys and conveys the boys' complex reactions to it. Some common after effects of boyhood sexual trauma include dissociation, isolation, addiction, prostitution, rage, suicide, denial, and the possibility of becoming an abuser. Sexual abuse is an interpersonal experience with ominous implications for a boy's future relational frame of reference. During childhood molestation, dissociation is an effective way for victims to defend against psychic disintegration. Masculine-gender norms often interfere with a man's ability to process sexual victimization. Masculine-gender norms also make it difficult for men to develop or use the psychological resources necessary to recover from trauma. Focusing on how the Church is affected by scandal somehow forces one to consider how the Church might regain its exalted state.
