Victims of Abuses in Ecclesial Surroundings: A Tortuous Path from Confusion and Despair Toward Survival.

The method of various in-depth interviews, as developed by the scholars, specialists of Lived religion (Ammermann, 2014; Morello et al., 2017; Morello, 2020) cannot be applied directly with victims of abuses in ecclesial surroundings. Out of respect for the situation and the suffering involved, interviews cannot be directed. The use of spiritual manipulations in the process of abuses and the later intents to overcome the trauma imply great transformations and upheavals in faith and ways of living religion on a daily basis.

This presentation, based on two research projects developed in Argentina and Peru, delves on some of the religious path transited by victims. We analyze two contexts. Fist women religious abuse; that is, religious sisters that suffered from clergy abuse, or were victims of another sister abuse. Second, we delve in the context of poor parishes where minors were abused by a priest.

Through the narrative of victims in these two contexts, we analyze what the abuse meant in their lives, how they delt with the trauma, the resources they had to cope with their suffering, and how the experience framed their spirituality. We argue that lived religious acquirees specific characteristics when believers suffer sexual abuse in ecclesiastical settings.