Questionable ‘Good Faith’ Reporting: A Study of Web-Based Abuse Reporting in the Canadian Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church provides a fruitful contextual basis for assessing good faith reporting of child sexual abuse. Drawing on the literature of organizational decoupling and organizational misconduct reporting, content analysis of recently implemented web-based reporting mechanisms and safeguarding policies of 30 Catholic dioceses across Canada was used to study misconduct and abuse reporting practices in this institution. Our findings provide evidence of gaps and inconsistencies with regard to accessibility and visibility in reporting mechanisms and corresponding communications on diocesan websites. Most dioceses seem to continue to prioritize internal reporting to church officials over reporting to civil authorities. Discourse analysis reveals that in some cases reporting practices appear to be decoupled from RCC policy and values. We conclude with a discussion and implications for research and practice.