Richard Sipe

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Aquinas Walter Richard Sipe (December 11, 1932 – August 8, 2018) was an American

Catholicism, clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and clerical celibacy
.

Life

Born in

celibates, in which he found more than half had sexual relationships. In 1970, after receiving a dispensation from his vows as a priest, Sipe married a former nun, Marianne; they had a son.[3]

Sipe was a witness in more than 57 lawsuits, testifying on behalf of victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Sipe died on August 8, 2018, of

La Jolla, California, at age 85.[3][4]

Media coverage

Sipe participated in 12 documentaries on

After Dark, alongside Garret FitzGerald and Sinéad O'Connor, among others.[6]

In popular culture

Sipe's research and his book Sex, Priests and Power are depicted in

Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize–winning 2002 investigation of predatory priests and the decades-long cover-up of their crimes by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. The 1995 book is shown onscreen in its bright-red-covered hardback edition when the investigative team meet the first victim, Phil Saviano, the founder of the New England chapter of SNAP.[7] As a favor to McCarthy, actor Richard Jenkins performed uncredited as Sipe's voice in three phone calls, each based on real conversations with Spotlight reporters.[8][9]

Abuse in Burlington diocese

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Burlington diocese

In a May 2009 study, Sipe found that there were extensive problems in the sexual behavior of Burlington, Vermont, Catholic clergy. He examined the records of 102 priests "whose records were available" between 1950 and 2002. He claimed that, of this group, 23 priests were sexually involved with children under age 13, 15 were reported for involvement with married women and 19 were said to have had sexual relationships with adult men. He asserted that 49 could be said to have a homosexual orientation.[10]

Research on homosexuality

See also:
Homosexuality and Roman Catholic priests and Societal attitudes toward homosexuality

A number of small-scale studies by Sipe and others have not found evidence that homosexuals are more likely to break the vow of celibacy than heterosexuals.[11][12]

Books by Sipe

See also

References

  1. ^ "Behind the Pine Curtain Decades of Abuse and Secrecy at St. Johns Abbey, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), September 29, 2002".
  2. ^ Richard Sipe Reports
  3. ^ a b About Richard
  4. ^ Otterman, Sharon (9 August 2018). "A.W. Richard Sipe, a Leading Expert on Clergy Sex Abuse, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Richard Sipe, Greenwood.com
  6. ^ Production company website, accessed 3 February 2021
  7. ^ Awards screener DVD, Spotlight, 2015
  8. ^ San Diego Man’s Role In Uncovering Priest Sex Abuse Featured In ‘Spotlight’
  9. ^ Thompson, Anne (November 9, 2015). "Director Tom McCarthy Puts 'Spotlight' on Sexually Predatory Catholic Priests". IndieWire. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  10. ^ Vermont: Profile of one diocese
  11. ^ Elias, Marilyn (November 19, 2015). "Is homosexuality to blame for church scandal?". USA Today. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  12. UC Davis

External links

Court
Scholar
Interviews
Books
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Sipe&oldid=1211390713"