Introduction to a complex problem
Understanding the patterns of clergy abuse litigation
Civil litigation against Catholic dioceses, parishes and priests
Participants in the clergy abuse case
Delays & limitations in clergy abuse claims
Effects of criminal charges & plea agreements
Church insurance & abuse claims
Constitutional issues
Bankruptcy issues
Mandated abuse reporting issues
Evidence privileges & clergy abuse issues
Repressed memory inducement cases
Fraud and nondisclosure in the assignment of clergy
Defenses & claims of immunity
Damages issues
Fiscal impacts of abuse cases on the U.S. Catholic Church
Impact of abuse cases on external relations of the Catholic Church
Responses vary inside & outside the United States
The Church's internal big picture: governance and law
How episcopal culture contributed to administrative failure
The development of the problem: 1950 to 2002
The perfect storm in canon law: what went wrong
2002 and beyond
The particular issues of religious communities
The investigation and pretrial canonical process
The accuser and the canonical process
Canonical penal trials and outcomes
Limitations and weaknesses in the canonical penal system
Clergy abuse issues in non-Roman Catholic denominations.