Cathy Melesky Dante - Power Dynamics in Church
Podcast: Season 5, Episode 10
I first came across Cathy Melesky Dante’s work a few months ago when Awake shared her article, "Power Literacy in Abuse Prevention Education: Lessons from the Field in the Catholic Safeguarding Response."
The article was excellent. It hit on things that I had only felt or intuited as not right, but then it was able to articulate why they actually are harmful. She offered an analysis of abuse in the Church using the framework of intimate partner violence and power dynamics (including how sexualized/gendered theology can perpetuate those structures of power imbalance). She talked about structures of virtue and vice and how they can relate to abuse of power in the Church. The article put words to so many ideas that I've just started to grasp over the past year or so.
As soon as I read the article I knew I wanted to have Cathy on the podcast, and I’m so grateful that she agreed. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
This episode is available on Youtube and in your favorite podcast app.
This week, Paul spoke with Cathy Melesky Dante, a social worker and scholar who recently published an article titled, "Power Literacy in Abuse Prevention Education: Lessons from the Field in the Catholic Safeguarding Response." This conversation is about how power dynamics, gender roles, structures of sin, and undermining the consciences of children play a role in perpetuating clerical abuse in the Church.
Cathy Melesky Dante is a PhD candidate at Marquette University writing a lay ethic toward solidarity with those sexually abused by Catholic leaders. A recent keynote speaker at the annual conference for the Guam Coalition against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (2023), she also is a spiritual director and former social worker. Her work can be found in Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction.
LINKS
Power Literacy in Abuse Prevention Education: Lessons from the Field in the Catholic Safeguarding Response:
https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/92065-power-literacy-in-abuse-prevention-education-lessons-from-the-field-in-the-catholic-safeguarding-response
Paid subscribers get to watch each episode early! All of your contributions directly supports my family and allows me to continue this podcast and all the resources I’ve shared here!
ABOUT DOMINIC DE SOUZA SmartCatholics founder, Dominic de Souza, is a convert from radical traditionalism – inspired by WherePeterIs, Bishop Robert Barron, and Pope Francis. He is passionate about helping ordinary Catholics break the ‘bystander effect’, and be first responders. “We don’t have to be geniuses. We just have to show up with witness and kindness. Christ does the rest.” Today he hosts the SmartCatholics community.
https://smartcatholics.com
ABOUT SMARTCATHOLICS If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your one friend you think would really like to see it. Come and regroup with us in the free, Catholic community on smartcatholics.com We're free of trolls and ads and toxicity, faithful to the Holy Father Pope Francis and the Church, and committed to a culture of kindness and learning. Sound like you? Come and join us. Join the free community:
https://smartcatholics.com
Send us a gift: https://smartcatholics.com/donate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartcatholics/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smartcathol...