Forensic consultation and the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

The sexual abuse of children by clergy is neither a new phenomenon nor solely confined to one religious faith or denomination. In the past year, however, revelations of numerous incidents of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, of the deliberate obfuscation of this criminal behavior for decades by church leaders, and of the severe misuse of confidence placed in religious institutions have added up to a major betrayal of the trust of children, their families, and our communities. Drawing on my experience as a volunteer consultant asked to devise new church policies during the crisis that followed, I have concluded that the crisis may have considerable impact on the nature of future psychiatric and forensic consultations in this arena.