A.W. Richard Sipe, expert on celibacy and clerical sex abuse, dies at 85 in his La Jolla home - The San Diego Union-Tribune

A.W. Richard Sipe, a priest and psychotherapist whose research on celibacy and the Roman Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal earned him popular renown and official scorn, died Wednesday in his Mount Soledad home. He was 85.

His son, Dr. Walter Sipe, attributed the cause of death to multiple organ failure.

Sipe’s work was instrumental in the 2002 Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” reports, which led to a worldwide revolt against Catholic clergy who had sexually assaulted children. After initial denials, church leaders slowly agreed to reforms.

In 2017, though, Sipe argued that the problem persisted, fueled in part by the secret sex lives of Catholic clergy.

“From the top down,” he told the Union-Tribune, “it hasn’t changed.

A.W. Richard Sipe, expert on celibacy and clerical sex abuse, dies at 85 in his La Jolla home - The San Diego Union-Tribune