Ordained Sinners
Sexual abuse by clergy is not a uniquely modern scandal. Long before today's headlines, the Christian Church was already wrestling with how to respond when those in holy office became the perpetrators. In “Sexueller Kindesmissbrauch und Sodomie im mittelalterlichen Kirchenrecht”, Kevin Kulp sheds light on how medieval Church law addressed such transgressions, offering a detailed legal-historical study that stretches from late antiquity to the Reformation.
This is the fourth volume under the theme Recht im ersten Jahrtausend, published as part of the series Studien zur europäischen Rechtsgeschichte (Volume 345). Kulp traces how concepts of abuse and sodomy evolved in ecclesiastical law, focusing not only on legal norms but also on the shifting theological and institutional self-image of the Church.
The book reveals a long and conflicted tradition: efforts to define, condemn or conceal abuse were never static but changed alongside the Church’s understanding of sin, power and discipline. By mapping this evolution, Kulp’s work offers crucial historical depth to a topic that remains painfully current. He argues that understanding these legal traditions, and how they continue to shape Church practice, can help clarify today’s debates about accountability and the role of secular law in confronting clerical crimes.