Author: Marco Guglielmi, Dipartimento di Filosofia, Sociologia, Pedagogia e Psicologia Applicata (Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology), Università degli Studi di Padova (University of Padua) - ResearchGate

Abstract: »Over the past three decades, many cases of sexual abuse have emerged in the Catholic Church in Italy. Despite this situation, it does not appear that these cases have constituted a disruptive scandal or significant social problem for either Italian Catholic circles or society at large. The notion of societalization propounded by Jeffrey C. Alexander may shed new light on the controversies surrounding this issue. Grounded in his theory of the civil sphere, it highlights the processes between the intra-institutional sphere of the Church and the civil sphere in Italy regarding the problem of sexual abuse in Catholic environments. It emphasizes the strains, switches, and backlashes that engender the conservative response of the Church on the question, and fragment its becoming a disruptive scandal for Italian society.« (Source: Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion)

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of Italy | Catholic Church: Catholic Church in Italy | Sex and the law: Sexual violence / Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Europe