Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context: Learning from the Sex Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Church

by Jean M. Bartunek (Editor), Mary Ann Hinsdale, IHM (Editor), James F. Keenan, SJ Boston College (Editor), John P. Beal (Contribution by), Francis J. Butler (Contribution by)

Overview

Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context is the first book to provide a broadly interdisciplinary approach to understanding the leadership crisis in the Catholic Church in the wake of the sex abuse scandal and how it was handled. Well-known scholars, religious clergy, and laymen in the trenches of church formation and leadership come together from the disciplines of organizational behavior, theology, sociology, history, and law, to foster the creation of a new code of ethics that is both ecclesial and professional. Touching on issues of governance, authority, accountability, and transparency, this volume goes on to specifically explore whether and how professional ethics can shape the identity and actions of Church leaders, ministers, and their congregations.

While evoked by the sex scandal in the Church, the essays in this book raise questions that have implications far beyond this current issue, to much broader issues such as the role of professionalism in ethics and what it means for an organization to engage in moral action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461674740
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/03/2005
Series:	Boston College Church in the 21st Century Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jean M. Bartunek, RSCJ, is Robert A and Evelyn J. Ferris Chair and professor of organization studies at Boston College. Her most recent book is Organizational and Educational Change. Mary Ann Hinsdale, I.H.M., is associate professor of theology at Boston College. She is co-author of 'It Comes From the People': Community Development and Local Theology. James F. Keenan, SJ, is professor of theological ethics at Boston College and author of Works of Mercy and Moral Wisdom with Sheed&Ward.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Part I. New Ways of Understanding the Crisis
Part 3 Section 1: The Crisis and the Scandal
Chapter 4 Understanding the Crisis in the Church
Chapter 5 The Sexual Abuse Scandal as Social Drama
Part 6 Section 2: The Context of the Church in the United States
Chapter 7 The Six Stages of Catholicism in America
Chapter 8 The Struggle to Preserve Religious Capital: A Sociological Perspective on the Catholic Church in the United States
Part 9 Section 3. The Church and Leadership: Perspectives on Reform
Chapter 10 Ecclesiological Perspectives on Church Reform
Chapter 11 Looking Good vs. Being Good: Pitfalls of Maintaining Perceptions of Strong Leadership Following Organizational Scandals
Part 12 Part II. Ethics, Organizations, and Church Culture
Part 13 Section 1: Framing Professional Relationships in the Church
Chapter 14 Toward an Ecclesial Professional Ethics
Chapter 15 Renewing the Psychological Contracts of the Clergy and Laity
Part 16 Section 2: Organizational Perspectives on Morality and Ethics
Chapter 17 Organizational Morality
Chapter 18 Ethics Codes, Intervention and Corruption Reform Methods for Ecclesial Professionals
Part 19 Section 3: Proposing an Ethical Code?
Chapter 20 A Professional Code of Ethics Reflecting the Nature of a Christian Vocation and an Understanding of Leadership in the Church
Chapter 21 A Professional Code of Ethics?
Part 22 Section 4: Civil and Canonical Cautions
Chapter 23 Toward an Ecclesiastical Professional Ethic: Lessons from the Legal Profession
Chapter 24 "Turning Pro:" Theologico-Canonical Hurdles on the Way to a Professional Ethic for Church Leaders
Part 25 Section 5: Reflections on an Ethical Church Culture
Chapter 26 Reflections on Ethics Organizations, and Church Culture
Chapter 27 An Ethical Church Culture
Part 28 Biographical Sketches

Editorial Reviews

This book of essays is well put together...[the] volume in its focus and style will appeal to anyone concerned about the future of the Catholic Church....All college libraries should definitely have it.

Horizons: The Magazine of Presbyterian Women

Bartunek, Hinsdale, and Keenan have edited an impressive volume of multi-disciplinary perspectives on unethical behavior. Analyzing sex abuse in the Catholic Church, the chapters explore the complex causes underlying the scandal and show how the larger organizational context contributed to it. The book goes far beyond church abuses to provide a comprehensive understanding of how unethical behavior can emerge in all kinds of social contexts and how it should be handled. Anyone with a serious interest in ethical behavior in modern organizations will find it a compelling read.

Drawing on multiple disciplines, this book sheds light on factors that created the conditions for the sex abuse scandal and initiates a conversation about the possibility of a professional code of ethics for church leaders...[it] invites church leaders and academics to continue this important conversation that promotes ethical reflection on professional ministry.

I sat down to review and ended up devouring this book. At last we have a comprehensive perspective on the American Roman Catholic Church that combines sound ecclesiology with a contemporary organizational critique. This book will empower those trained in organizational theory and sociology to enter into the dialog of the present crisis of the Church no longer having to feel that the domain is restricted to psychology and moral theology.

Readers will benefit from the various perspectives that multiple disciplines provide, which will undoubtedly allow them to consider the crisis and professional ethics through new categories.

The essays collected here are unparalleled in the breadth and depth of their analysis of a church in crisis. Moreover, the authors take us beyond their penetrating analysis to a realistic vision of renewal and reform.

This book of essays is well put together...[the] volume in its focus and style will appeal to anyone concerned about the future of the Catholic Church....All college libraries should definitely have it.

This book should be required reading for all members of all churches, and especially for all church leaders or anyone in a particular office or role in the church. The interdisciplinary essays in this book never lose their clear and solid focus on ethical guidelines for the internal life of the church and its external mission. We have here, therefore, a remarkable new set of insights into church relationships and roles, and a significantly new understanding of the church itself. Moral responsibility is finally brought together in very specific ways with profound faith and accountable service. The result holds great promise for new life in the multiple concrete situations of every church.

While drawing from a rich range of perspectives, the volume presents a set of common themes....The volume should be useful to those seeking to understand the causes and consequences of the scandal, to suggest or implement corrective action, or to apply its lessons in other contexts.

From the Publisher

Drawing on multiple disciplines, this book sheds light on factors that created the conditions for the sex abuse scandal and initiates a conversation about the possibility of a professional code of ethics for church leaders...[it] invites church leaders and academics to continue this important conversation that promotes ethical reflection on professional ministry.

Catholic Books Review - Angela Senander

The essays collected here are unparalleled in the breadth and depth of their analysis of a church in crisis. Moreover, the authors take us beyond their penetrating analysis to a realistic vision of renewal and reform.

Donald Cozzens

This book of essays is well put together...[the] volume in its focus and style will appeal to anyone concerned about the future of the Catholic Church....All college libraries should definitely have it.

Horizons: The Magazine of Presbyterian Women

I sat down to review and ended up devouring this book. At last we have a comprehensive perspective on the American Roman Catholic Church that combines sound ecclesiology with a contemporary organizational critique. This book will empower those trainedin organizational theory and sociology to enter into the dialog of the present crisis of the Church no longer having to feel that the domain is restricted to psychology and moral theology....

Andre L. Delbecq

Bartunek, Hinsdale, and Keenan have edited an impressive volume of multi-disciplinary perspectives on unethical behavior. Analyzing sex abuse in the Catholic Church, the chapters explore the complex causes underlying the scandal and show how the larger organizational context contributed to it. The book goes far beyond church abuses to provide a comprehensive understanding of how unethical behavior can emerge in all kinds of social contexts and how it should be handled. Anyone with a serious interest in ethical behavior in modern organizations will find it a compelling read.

Thomas G. Cummings

While drawing from a rich range of perspectives, the volume presents a set of common themes....The volume should be useful to those seeking to understand the causes and consequences of the scandal, to suggest or implement corrective action, or to apply its lessons in other contexts.

Administrative Science Quarterly - Ramon J. Aldag

Readers will benefit from the various perspectives that multiple disciplines provide, which will undoubtedly allow them to consider the crisis and professional ethics through new categories.

Catholic Books Review

This book should be required reading for all members of all churches, and especially for all church leaders or anyone in a particular office or role in the church. The interdisciplinary essays in this book never lose their clear and solid focus on ethical guidelines for the internal life of the church and its external mission. We have here, therefore, a remarkable new set of insights into church relationships and roles, and a significantly new understanding of the church itself. Moral responsibility is finally brought together in very specific ways with profound faith and accountable service. The result holds great promise for new life in the multiple concrete situations of every church.

Margaret A. Farley

Readers will benefit from the various perspectives that multiple disciplines provide, which will undoubtedly allow them to consider the crisis and professional ethics through new categories.

December 2008 Catholic Books Review