The issue of sexual abuse of minors constitutes one of the most significant crises of the Catholic Church in the modern era. In the first place, this article offers several arguments for the understanding of the subject from specialized North American texts. The second moment represents the core of the contribution: with the analysis of several reports of different nationalities, particularly Australian and German, the institutional aspect of the issue that occurred in the Catholic Church is highlighted, especially its systemic dysfunctions, which, as depicted with various arguments, converges with reflections already elaborated in theological agendas of reforms in the Church. The contemporary standards of good governance that are demanded coincide to a large extent with the need for the development of a structural synodality.