This book is a major assessment of clerical sexual abuse. Carried out by highly respected researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, it provides a multifaceted picture of the impact of the abuse on the extended Church community.

It looks at the historical views of the Church on sexual abuse as a sin and the responsibility of the government in dealing with abuse.

Many interviews were conducted for this book with adults who were abused as children, clergy members convicted of abuse (some still in prison), family members of victims and abusers, colleagues of abusers, and members of the Church hierarchy, as well as with members of the general public.