12 pm
Clark Hall Room 206, 11130 Bellflower Road
“Monsters” stalk the discourses of religion and sexual abuse. Monstrous men have become ubiquitous in movies, courtrooms, news media, and our everyday language for describing abusive men. But a survivor-centered approach reveals that many Catholic victims of clergy sexual abuse actually describe their abusers in richly complex, human terms. This ethnographic observation prompts Dr. Clites, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor Catholic Studies II, to interrogate our society's heavy reliance on monsters. What does it mean to call both pop icons (like Michael Jackson) and Catholic priests (like Cardinal McCarrick) monstrous? Why is monstrosity such a durable and enduring scaffold? Whose ideas, and which interests, do these monsters serve?
An informal lunch will be provided. Registration requested. Register HERE.