Why Punish Me?: Augustine's sinful lust unwrapped

Michael Moloney tells the story of how, as a vulnerable altar boy, he was psychologically and physically abused by Catholic priests. He traces the origins of clerical abuse all the way back to one of the most influential of Church Fathers, Saint Augustine of Hippo.

In 2021 the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published a dossier of abuse in religious institutions, revealing that the church remains mired in safeguarding...