George B. Wilson SJ
Minnesota Liturgical Press, 2008

George Wilson is a Jesuit priest who has served for 34 years on the staff of the US Management Design Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. In relation to sexual abuse by Catholic priests, Wilson asserts that many believe the basic cause has been the clerical culture. And so, in his introduction he spends time pointing out it is important to understand just what is meant by the terms “clerical” and “culture”. He also indicates he has difficulty with the use of the term “priest” and “clergy” interchangeably.

In Chapter 1, the notion of clerical cultures and how they work is considered. Significantly, cultures are both empowering and limiting and we are all responsible for our cultures. Hence, while later in his book he is quite critical of priests and bishops, he suggests that it is simplistic to assign all responsibility only to bishops and priests in relation to clerical cultures. After discussing the various connotations of the word “clergy”, the strength and weaknesses of clericalism are discussed.

When I began to read this book I was inclined to put it down fairly soon as I found some of the distinctions at the start a little too academic and tedious. I’m pleased I didn’t. It is a powerful, if at times confronting, book which makes a real attempt to respond to the sexual misconduct scandal – albeit in the United States context. But, as I continued to read I couldn’t help thinking how relevant it also was to the Australian context, both to diocesan priests and religious orders.

Kevin Kiem, Taree