Last week, this writer, a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, warned that the handling of the clerical sex abuse crisis has been marred by too much focus on theology at the expense of understanding the human psyche. Here, he examines how violators should be rooted out If we were to ask, in areas where good safeguarding procedures are being followed, whether this has led to a reduction in cases of sexual abuse by priests, the answer is almost certainly – though it is difficult to have any figures about an increase in non-events. If we were then to ask whether this means there is now little or nothing more to be done, the answer is, absolutely not: the real task has hardly begun. The work lies in developing new strategies, to making changes in the overall system which gave rise to abu