Participation in liturgy is often described and prescribed as a source of comfort and healing for survivors of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA). However, as Liturgy in the Shadows of Trauma demonstrates, the diverse forms of trauma inflicted by the sex abuse crisis threaten the ability of liturgical worship to function as the source of grace that it is meant to be.

The authors frame this complex issue in a way that illuminates the church’s ongoing role in impeding the healing of survivors. In so doing, they lay important, constructive groundwork for how we can faithfully promote healing in liturgical life.