Transatlantic Anti-Catholicism and Sexual Scandal: The Case of Mgr. Thomas John Capel
This article investigates the public scandal that enveloped a famous English priest who was living in the United States. Monsignor Thomas John Capel (1836–1911) was one of the stars of the English Church in the Victorian era. Following a disciplinary process for breaking his vow of chastity, the Vat...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of religious history
Year: 2025, Volume: 49, Issue: 4, Pages: 505-519 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article investigates the public scandal that enveloped a famous English priest who was living in the United States. Monsignor Thomas John Capel (1836–1911) was one of the stars of the English Church in the Victorian era. Following a disciplinary process for breaking his vow of chastity, the Vatican dispatched him to America, where in 1886 he was the centre of a sexual scandal involving a married woman. The career of Capel illustrates a little-known aspect of the trans-Atlantic case against Catholicism: the circulation not just of narratives of clerical immorality but of corrupt priests moving through the Church's international networks. It offers intriguing parallels with the abuse crisis that has engulfed the Catholic Church today. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-9809 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1467-9809.70003 |
