Glimpses of Hope

Reflections on Journeying with Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse (Hungarian translation)

  • Mark Joseph Williams Cambridge University Press
  • Hans Zollner SJ Institute for Anthropology – Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, IADC
Keywords: Forgiveness, justice, power, sexual abuse, witness

Abstract

Drawing on Roman Catholic and ecumenical expertise, this article takes an honest look at the experiences and hopes of those abused. Many in the churches assume that victims seek financial compensation or legal redress. ­ However, research indicates that many victims primarily seek truth and justice as a means of closure and that their struggles with church leadership arise when truth and justice are repeatedly withheld. This makes forgiveness near-impossible and often results in the victim being re-traumatized by the systemic re-abuse they experience. Ultimately, there is no substitute for full and genuine meeting with victims, which requires the church to lay aside its power and authority and engage with humility and proper deference to the victims abused at the hands of the church. Without such openness, the victims cannot move on, and neither can the churches.

This study will be accessible online from January 2026.

Author Biographies

Mark Joseph Williams, Cambridge University Press

Mark Joseph Williams is a counsellor, social worker, victim of abuse by a clergyman and special advisor to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark, New Jersey, USA.

Hans Zollner SJ, Institute for Anthropology – Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, IADC

Hans Zollner, Jesuit priest, safeguarding expert and director of the Institute for Anthropology - Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Published
2025-06-24
Section
Articles