Confession and grooming: A risk analysis

Confession frequently serves as a setting for grooming by pedocriminal Catholic priests, thereby facilitating sexualized violence against minors. Drawing on empirical findings from Germany and a taxonomy of grooming strategies, this article examines how the institutionalized practice of individualized spiritual guidance, conducted in isolated interactions, creates enabling or even conducive conditions for the grooming process. As a medium that facilitates the communication of sins within the Roman Catholic Church, confession fosters communication about “sinful” sexuality, providing pedocriminal priests with opportunities to select, access, and manipulate their victims. Perpetrators exploit these institutionalized structures to establish an exclusive, trusting relationship with their victims, shielded them from exposure. Our analysis identifies confession as a structural risk factor for clergy engaged in sexual grooming, and thereby for clergy-perpetrated sexual violence against children.