Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context is the first book to provide a broadly interdisciplinary approach to understanding the leadership crisis in the Catholic Church in the wake of the sex abuse scandal and how it was handled.

Chapter 1 Introduction Part 2 Part I. New Ways of Understanding the Crisis Part 3 Section 1: The Crisis and the Scandal Chapter 4 Understanding the Crisis in the Church Chapter 5 The Sexual Abuse Scandal as Social Drama Part 6 Section 2: The Context of the Church in the United States Chapter 7 The Six Stages of Catholicism in America Chapter 8 The Struggle to Preserve Religious Capital: A Sociological Perspective on the Catholic Church in the United States Part 9 Section 3. The Church and Leadership: Perspectives on Reform Chapter 10 Ecclesiological Perspectives on Church Reform Chapter 11 Looking Good vs. Being Good: Pitfalls of Maintaining Perceptions of Strong Leadership Following Organizational Scandals Part 12 Part II. Ethics, Organizations, and Church Culture Part 13 Section 1: Framing Professional Relationships in the Church Chapter 14 Toward an Ecclesial Professional Ethics Chapter 15 Renewing the Psychological Contracts of the Clergy and Laity Part 16 Section 2: Organizational Perspectives on Morality and Ethics Chapter 17 Organizational Morality Chapter 18 Ethics Codes, Intervention and Corruption Reform Methods for Ecclesial Professionals Part 19 Section 3: Proposing an Ethical Code? Chapter 20 A Professional Code of Ethics Reflecting the Nature of a Christian Vocation and an Understanding of Leadership in the Church Chapter 21 A Professional Code of Ethics? Part 22 Section 4: Civil and Canonical Cautions Chapter 23 Toward an Ecclesiastical Professional Ethic: Lessons from the Legal Profession Chapter 24 "Turning Pro:" Theologico-Canonical Hurdles on the Way to a Professional Ethic for Church Leaders Part 25 Section 5: Reflections on an Ethical Church Culture Chapter 26 Reflections on Ethics Organizations, and Church Culture Chapter 27 An Ethical Church Culture Part 28 Biographical Sketches