Rate My Professor Karlijn Demasure

Karlijn Demasure is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Canon Law at Université Saint-Paul in Ottawa, Canada, a position she has held since 2022. She earned her PhD in Practical Theology and Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) from KU Leuven, Belgium, in 2003, with a dissertation on pastoral care for victims and perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Additional degrees include a Licentiate in Theology (1998), a BA in Philosophy (1977), and a Licentiate in Religious Sciences (1977) from the same institution. Her career at Université Saint-Paul encompasses Full Professor (2014-2022), Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology (2008-2014), holder of the Sisters-of-Our-Lady-of-the-Cross Research Chair in Christian Family Studies (2008-2014), Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy (2011-2014), and Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences (2010-2014). Internationally, she served as Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (2014-2018), Chair of the Interdiocesan Service for Pastoral Care for Families in Belgium (2003-2008), and Assistant Professor at KU Leuven Faculty of Theology (2003-2007).

Demasure founded and directed the Centre for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons at Université Saint-Paul from 2019 to 2022, continuing in leadership roles including re-appointment as Director in 2025. Her research interests center on safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults, prevention of sexual, spiritual, and power abuses in pastoral contexts, pastoral care for survivors, and restorative justice within the Catholic Church. Notable publications include 'The Loss of the Self—Spiritual Abuse of Adults in the Context of the Catholic Church' (Religions, 2022), 'La vérité nous rendra libres. Paroles des femmes dans la crise des abus' (Médiaspaul, 2022), 'Une réflexion sur la complexité des facteurs ayant facilité les abus sexuels et leur dissimulation dans l’Église Catholique' (Revue Théologique de Louvain, 2022), and edited 'Safeguarding: Reflecting on Child Abuse, Theology and Care' (Peeters, 2018). She has received the Officer in the Order of the Crown from Belgium and the Prix d’excellence 2023 for her work on clericalism and abuse. Demasure influences the field through international roles, such as member of the Synod on Synodality Study Group 7 (2024), President of the Kuratorium Institut für Prävention und Aufarbeitung Sexualisierter Gewalt in Germany (2023), and leadership in the 'Toward a Trustworthy Church' research project.