'Paedophile priests': an analysis of the concept of moral panic and its applicabiltiy to the Christchurch Order of St John of God case of historic sexual abuse allegations

Abstract

This thesis examines the concept of moral panic and its relevance in understanding child sexual abuse as a social problem. A contemporary case of child sexual abuse in an order of the Catholic Church in Christchurch, New Zealand was used to examine the applicability of the concept. The study contributes to a body of knowledge in two main areas of sociology: the study of social problems and moral panic theory. In addition, it provides an insight into instances of child sexual abuse within the institution of the Catholic Church. The problem of sexual abuse within the church has been widely publicised by the mass media both in New Zealand and internationally. In recent years, much attention has been paid to institutional abuse in childcare centres within New Zealand, with a prominent example being that of the Christchurch Civic Creche case. However a sociological study that examines the concept of moral panic has yet to be applied to the issue of clergy abuse in New Zealand. The main focus of the analysis was to examine the role of the mass media and to explore the impact that media influence may have on public perceptions of instances of child sexual abuse, and to examine whether this influence is great enough to create enough concern that it could be the product of a moral panic. The thesis examines how public concern around social issues can often be heightened to a great degree by the mass media, and the role it has within a moral panic. The aim was simply to explore the subject area and see whether the concept would be useful to an analysis such as this. It does not assume that this case of child sexual abuse is a moral panic. Findings from the content analysis conducted, however highlighted the role of the media as active claims-makers in the case, supporting the applicability of the moral panic concept. The analysis has utility in this situation and also gives an insight into similar cases of child sexual abuse both within the Catholic Church and in other areas of society. Within New Zealand at present and in recent years, many cases have arisen regarding historical claims of sexual abuse. This study illustrates how the concept of moral panic can be applied to cases such as this.