Sunday Telegraph, Cardinal George Pell,
ON Wednesday the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Abuse brought
down its 700 page report. I welcome the publication of the report. It should
help the victims.
While the Inquiry hearings were sometimes unconventional and emotional
affairs, the report itself seems fair and reasonable. Naturally it covers the
awful abuse which occurred in Catholic communities, mainly between 1960 and
1985.
The report details some of the serious failures in the way the church dealt
with these crimes and responded to victims, especially before the procedural
reforms of the mid 1990s. Irreparable damage has been caused.
By the standards of common decency and by today's standards, church
authorities were not only slow to deal with the abuse, but sometimes did not
deal with it in any appropriate way at all. This is indefensible.
The Report offers valuable recommendations to ensure that crimes are
reported, children and vulnerable people are better protected, and those who
have been hurt can more easily seek justice.
I strongly support the recommendations to ensure crimes are reported to the
police and to establish a statutory body to monitor and audit compliance on
child protection requirements; something like what we have in NSW already.
These recommendations should apply to all professions and all non-government
and government organisations. All victims need compassion and support.
Sydney Morning Herald, Chrissie Foster,
It has been quite a journey, but this week we arrived.
The tabling in State Parliament on Wednesday of the inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations report, with its findings and recommendations, was an emotionally charged occasion.
Morning and afternoon saw both the upper and lower houses of Parliament silent and intent as each of the six Family and Community Development Committee members read their speeches. Every one of them passionate, resolute and united in their damning of the Catholic Church and the atrocities it bestowed on generation after generation of Victorian children.
Their collective disgust at evidence presented before them reverberated
throughout the Parliament and every person who listened.
Tears were shed as the strength and clarity of their words damned an
organisation that wore sheep's clothing in public yet, in reality, tolerated,
hid and protected criminal clergy who never tired of their lustful crimes and
were left unchecked to continue molesting and raping boys and girls.
There were no stops put in place, no checks, and no punishment for these criminal clergy, just further access to the bodies of our defenceless children.
The Age, Barney Zwartz,
The sex abuse inquiry chairwoman expects the Catholic Church in
Breaking her self-imposed silence after the Victorian parliamentary committee tabled its report on Wednesday, Georgie Crozier said the suggestion had come from the church itself during testimony to the inquiry.
"The report quotes Francis Sullivan, chief of the Catholic Truth, Justice and Healing Council, who says often, 'judge us by our actions now'," Ms Crozier said.
Sydney's Archbishop Cardinal George Pell "made reference to the miserable payments, and they said they are willing to go back and do that','' she said. The 750-page report, which made 15 recommendations - including several aimed at making the Catholic Church legally accountable - strongly criticised the church.
In a sharp exchange with committee member Andrea Coote when he gave evidence in May, Cardinal Pell said if there were a good case he would revisit the amount of money paid in compensation, but he could speak only for Sydney.
Sydney Morning Herald, Barney Zwartz,
Georgie Crozier thought she was mentally ready to investigate child sexual abuse in the churches. As a nurse and midwife, she had coped with cases of rape and incest, and heard heart-wrenching stories. But nothing could prepare her for the sheer horror or scale of what happened to thousands of young Victorians in orphanages, schools and church settings over decades.
As chairwoman of the Victorian inquiry into how the churches handled child sexual abuse, she hid her emotions behind a mask of formality through the long months of testimony from victims, advocates, experts and religious leaders. Just occasionally her irritation at some witnesses' prevarication slipped out.
''It's very difficult seeing people you know sitting across the table from you, men showing photos of themselves as boys,'' she says. ''But I don't think it was nearly as difficult as it was for them coming before us, and that kept me focused: this is so important for so many people - we just have to get this right.''
The inquiry's 750-page
report, tabled on Wednesday, made 15 recommendations across five
areas: criminal law, making the church legally accountable, setting up an independent
but church-funded tribunal to investigate claims and determine compensation,
and better prevention and monitoring.
It particularly savaged the Catholic Church, but - as Andrea Coote noted in her
speech to Parliament - this was because it was the focus of the vast majority
of testimony. Also, as the report makes clear, the members were often
unimpressed by the testimony of Catholic leaders.
The Age, Barney Zwartz,
Prime Minister Tony Abbott's support for Cardinal George Pell over child sex
abuse is inappropriate and factually wrong, victims say.
This new controversy came as the Speaker of the Victorian Parliament, Ken
Smith, accused the former Melbourne vicar-general, Gerald Cudmore, of
committing perjury in evidence he gave to a parliamentary inquiry in 1993. Mr
Smith said highly placed Catholics stifled his inquiry's report.
Mr Abbott told Fairfax Radio that Cardinal Pell, a former Catholic archbishop
of
Asked whether Cardinal Pell, now Archbishop of Sydney, carried any
responsibility for the failures described by the report of the Victorian
inquiry into the church's handling of child sexual abuse, Mr Abbott said he
hadn't read it.
''As is pretty well known, I have a lot of time for George Pell … my
understanding is that the first senior cleric who took this issue very
seriously was in fact Cardinal Pell.''
The report, Betrayal of
Trust, said the cardinal was reluctant to acknowledge and accept
responsibility for the church's failings on criminal child abuse. It also
strongly condemned the current Catholic leadership, saying it trivialised and
minimised abuse, treated it as ''a short-term embarrassment'', and betrayed the
church's purported values.
9 News
A Victorian parliamentary report recommending the Catholic Church be immediately
made liable for child sex abuse has been welcomed as a "dream come
true" by a victims group.
Nicky
"We're thrilled," she told AAP on Thursday.
"They've got to the bottom of the issue and they haven't held back from
taking on what needs to be done."
She described the 15 major recommendations made in the report as
"comprehensive", "innovative" and
"groundbreaking".
Aside from compensating victims and making those who had long avoided
responsibility accountable, implementing laws and standards suggested by the
committee would encourage more people to report abuse, Ms Davis said. ...
The findings of
And there were a lot more opportunities to talk about them — group and
individual therapy, therapeutic and spiritual and 'self-actualisation' movements
— and even newly accessible professional, medical, and free and empathetic
legal services. As the wounded child within the damaged man or woman spoke, it
was eventually realised that if it happened then, it could be happening now.
Unless we take children seriously as people, it will. Unless individuals
within the culture of their institution see it as a duty to stick their necks
out and challenge its culture, it will. Unless bishops and their helpers and
archbishops and cardinals and religious supporting them in their spiritual work
take personal responsibility for protecting vulnerable people ahead of
protecting the reputation of their institution, it will happen again.
A report of misconduct by even a very powerful person within that
institution should not lead to the expulsion of the messenger. It should bring
into question the culture of the organisation, that such a report could surface
decades after the reported misconduct. It could just happen again. I am acutely
aware of the present day experience of Professor Patrick Parkinson, who was
asked to advise one Catholic teaching order on its culture, and then withdrew,
citing institutional obduracy and avoidance as making the completion of his
task impossible.
The Conversation, Peter Sherlock,
The report of the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and
Other Non-Government Organisations has now been tabled in the Victorian
Parliament. Entitled Betrayal of Trust, it is sober reading. It deserves to be
read by everyone involved in the leadership of religious organisations in
If acted upon, its recommendations will see the most fundamental overhaul of
the way the churches are governed in
The report recognises that churches should be free to determine their own
beliefs and behaviours in purely religious matters. It also recognises that it
is hard to define the limits of what is and what is not a religious matter.
At issue is not the separation of church and state. Rather, the question is
the extent to which the state ought to regulate the churches in matters such as
freedom of conscience, or freedom to discriminate.
The Australian, Editorial,
ENDEMIC criminality and cover-ups warrant strong responses. To that end, the
recommendations of the Victorian inquiry into child sex abuse by religious and
other organisations should be considered on a national basis by the royal
commission into child abuse and by political leaders. The recommendations
include lifting the statute of limitations to assist victims, making it an
offence to conceal abuse, a statutory body to monitor and audit compliance on
child protection requirements, and an independent body to handle victims'
claims.
After years of frustration, the Victorian inquiry provided victims with
much-needed comfort by hearing and understanding their painful experiences at
the hands of clerics and others in positions of trust, especially in the
Catholic and Anglican churches and Salvation Army. As one victim said:
"Any abuse is dreadful ... but when it happens within the context of the
Christian community, it damages your soul ... it attacks your meaning of
life."
The behaviour of past church leaders was unconscionable. In 1993, for
example, former archbishop Frank Little wrote a letter lauding the services of
retired priest Desmond Gannon, when he knew the priest had admitted abusing
five or six boys. The worst damage occurred in the decades up to the 1980s,
when church responses were condemned as "seriously inadequate and
sometimes non-existent". It was for that reason, Cardinal George Pell told
the inquiry, he established the Melbourne Response in 1996. It was overseen by
independent QC Peter O'Callaghan, an appointment welcomed by police. The
inquiry was also scathing about the failure of church leaders in not reporting
abuse to police. At that time, however, many victims refused to go to the
police.
The Age, Jane Lee,
Victims will have a much better chance of claiming compensation for historic
child abuse from religious and other organisations if the state inquiry's
recommendations are implemented, lawyers say.
After an 18-month inquiry, the parliamentary committee investigating the
matter recommended law reforms to remove major barriers that typically prevent
victims from successfully suing the Catholic Church and other religious bodies.
These include:
* Dismantling the "Ellis defence", which prevents unincorporated
religious organisations from being sued.
* Excluding child abuse from the statute of limitations, which bars lawsuits
after a certain period.
* Creating an independent "alternative justice avenue" for
criminal child-abuse victims.
Lawyer Angela Sdrinis said that as a package, the reforms were "the
victims' wish list".
Sydney Morning Herald, Barney Zwartz,
The Salvation Army says it is ashamed and deeply sorry for the brutal abuse
suffered by many children in its care, following the release of an eagerly
awaited report on clergy child sex abuse.
The report, launched in the Victorian Parliament on Wednesday, also recommends
sweeping changes to laws behind which the Catholic Church has sheltered, and
accuses its leaders of trivialising the problem as a "short-term
embarrassment".
The report, Betrayal of
Trust, wants to establish a new crime when people in authority
knowingly put a child a risk. It wants to make it a crime to leave a child at
risk or not report abuse, including for clergy, but does not recommend ending
the exemption for the confessional.
Grooming a child or parents should be a crime, child abuse should be
excluded from the statute of limitations, and the present church systems of
dealing with victims in-house should be replaced by an independent authority
funded by the churches, the report says.
The report was the result of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into sexual
abuse that began last year. A separate national Royal Commission into abuse
will prepare an interim report by the middle of next year.
The Age, Barney Zwartz,
The state government's report on clergy child sex abuse recommends sweeping
changes to laws behind which the Catholic Church has sheltered, and accuses its
leaders of trivialising the problem as a ''short-term embarrassment''.
Inquiry chairwoman Georgie Crozier spoke of ''a betrayal beyond
comprehension'' and children suffering ''unimaginable harm''. Launching the
report in State Parliament on Wednesday, she said the inquiry had referred 135
previously unreported claims of child sex abuse to the police.
The report, Betrayal of
Trust, wants to establish a new crime when people in authority
knowingly put a child at risk. It wants to make it a crime to leave a child at
risk or not report abuse, including for clergy, but does not recommend ending
the exemption for the confessional. Grooming a child or parents should be a
crime, child abuse should be excluded from the civil law's statute of
limitations, and the present church systems of dealing with victims in-house
should be replaced by an independent authority funded by the churches, the report
says. Premier Denis Napthine said the government would act quickly to begin
drafting legislation reflecting the recommendations.
He said the abuse detailed in the report was ''absolutely appalling'' and
the religious leaders involved should hang their heads in shame.
The Age, Comment,
The Victorian joint parliamentary committee's report into child sex abuse
marks a watershed moment for our community. With an unwavering eye on the
rights and needs of victims, the committee has peeled away layers of secrecy
imposed by perpetrators of sexual abuse and by the non-government organisations
which, for decades, did nothing about it. The committee members should be
congratulated. Their report is deeply respectful, insightful and measured while
traversing awful and confronting evidence of abuse.
This report should change us and the way our community lives. If, as we
urge, the government adopts the proposed reforms, protective measures would be
strengthened and victims' avenues for redress improved. For example, anyone who
conceals abuse or fails to report it would be criminally liable; an officer of
an organisation who puts a child at risk or fails to take reasonable steps to
protect a child, knowing there is risk, may be held criminally liable for
endangering the child's welfare. There is also a proposal to review the Wrongs
Act to make organisations directly liable for criminal acts of abuse by
employees.
These are important proposals because they go beyond staff selection
procedures (such as compulsory checks on employees who will work with children)
and impose an enduring duty on organisations to stay alert to the potential for
abuse.
The inquiry has offered a glimpse into the unfathomable hurt wrought on
several thousands of people in this state whose lives were damaged by sexual
abuse. It has also highlighted the utter disregard some organisations
demonstrated for those same victims' rights, in particular the shameful conduct
of the Catholic Church. That organisations as rich and powerful as the church
ignored victims' complaints, deliberately obfuscated or denied the wrongdoing
of criminals in their ranks, almost defies belief today. That the church spends
millions of dollars trying to beat down victims' damages claims is simply
reprehensible.
The Age, Jane Lee,
Chrissie and Anthony Foster showed the inquiry's committee photographs of
their daughter Emma's arms, bloodied by a suicide attempt after she was
repeatedly abused by a Catholic priest.
In a matter of hours, they calmly detailed the pain that had helped define
their family's lives. Their daughters, Emma and Katie, had been repeatedly
raped by Father Kevin O'Donnell. Emma later committed suicide and Katie was
left in a wheelchair after an accident.
But when the committee tabled its report, with recommendations to prevent
similar crimes against children, there were no words left for the couple.
They went to embrace the MPs Georgie Crozier and David O'Brien as they
entered a room filled with victims and victims' advocates. Mrs Foster said the
committee had been compassionate to victims, believed their stories and acted.
The Australian, Rachel Baxendale,
LEONIE Sheedy witnessed brutality almost every day of the 13 years she spent in a Catholic orphanage as a child.
Yesterday, the Care Leavers Australia Network founder and spokeswoman said she was pleased with the recommendations of the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations, but felt that it should have included abuse in state-run institutions in its terms of reference.
"I feel very encouraged. The Victorian parliament and the committee have validated all the stories," she said.
"They've recognised the extreme, heinous crimes that were committed against Victorian children in orphanages and children's homes run by the churches and charities, and they've acknowledged that these organisations need to contribute to repairing people's lives.
"The only thing that's missing is the state-run orphanages . . . sadly this inquiry didn't cover those institutions, but at least the royal commission (into child sexual abuse) will cover those."
VIC, 9 News
The Victorian government says it will not wait to act on a child sex abuse report that is scathing of the Catholic Church and recommends widespread legislative reform.
The government has six months to consider the recommendations of the inquiry into child sex abuse which include a call for concealing child abuse offences to be made a crime.
But Premier Denis Napthine said the government would introduce changes to the law in parliament early next year.
"The government will not wait to act on this report," Dr Napthine said.
"Criminal abuse of children represents a departure of the gravest kind from the standards of decency fundamental to any civilised society."
The Australian, John Ferguson and Rachel Baxendale
THE Napthine government will criminalise the grooming of child-sex victims and the concealing of abuse by officials after the first wide inquiry into the issue savaged the Catholic Church over systemic failures.
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine also promised yesterday to exclude abuse from statute of limitations provisions to ensure victims have enough time to initiate civil legal action.
The Victorian parliament's inquiry into the handling of abuse by religious and other non-government entities made a series of other recommendations yesterday, including the setting up of an independent, alternative avenue for justice for victims.
This would involve the government reviewing the functions of the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal to consider its capacity to administer a specific scheme for victims of criminal abuse.
The committee backed a new offence of child endangerment for anyone who relocates an offender -- such as happened with some Catholic clergy -- and offences for failing to report child abuse. This would fall under the government's pledge to legislate against those who conceal sex-abuse crimes.
The Australian, Hannah Jenkins,
VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine has condemned the culture of the Catholic Church in The Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into religious child sex abuse.
Dr Napthine said the Catholic Church had failed in its duty to protect the welfare of young children who had suffered in the hands of people they had every right to trust.
"The leaders of the Catholic Church should hang their heads in shame," he said.
Dr Napthine criticised the Catholic Church for decades of concealing abuse and not taking action against the perpetrators responsible.
"The culture seemed to be putting the interests of the church and its priests ahead of the interests of children and victims, and that is totally and utterly wrong,' he said.
The Australian, John Ferguson,
THE national royal commission into child sex abuse can learn a great deal from the Victorian inquiry.
It should treat yesterday's findings and the method of investigation as a first step towards getting to the bottom of the abuse epidemic.
The Victorian inquiry has suffered from being handed terms of reference that were too restrictive. The parliamentary committee should never have been precluded from properly examining the government sector, where - it could be argued - a large percentage of the offending has occurred and still occurs.
This was a mistake made by the then Baillieu state government that needs to be rectified in a more meaningful sense by the national inquiry. The royal commission's terms of reference appear to deal with this mistake.
This is not to diminish any of the good work of the committee members in
The Australian, Editorial
Endemic criminality and cover-ups warrant strong responses. To that end, the recommendations of the Victorian inquiry into child sex abuse by religious and other organisations should be considered on a national basis by the royal commission into child abuse and by political leaders. The recommendations include lifting the statute of limitations to assist victims, making it an offence to conceal abuse, a statutory body to monitor and audit compliance on child protection requirements, and an independent body to handle victims' claims.
After years of frustration, the Victorian inquiry provided victims with much-needed comfort by hearing and understanding their painful experiences at the hands of clerics and others in positions of trust, especially in the Catholic and Anglican churches and Salvation Army. As one victim said: "Any abuse is dreadful ... but when it happens within the context of the Christian community, it damages your soul ... it attacks your meaning of life."
The behaviour of past church leaders was unconscionable. In 1993, for example, former archbishop Frank Little wrote a letter lauding the services of retired priest Desmond Gannon, when he knew the priest had admitted abusing five or six boys. The worst damage occurred in the decades up to the 1980s, when church responses were condemned as "seriously inadequate and sometimes non-existent". It was for that reason, Cardinal George Pell told the inquiry, he established the Melbourne Response in 1996. It was overseen by independent QC Peter O'Callaghan, an appointment welcomed by police. The inquiry was also scathing about the failure of church leaders in not reporting abuse to police. At that time, however, many victims refused to go to the police.
The Age, Frank McGuire
Despite the suffering of victims revealed by the sex abuse inquiry, some men of God still refuse to accept the damage they did.
Betrayal of Trust reveals the cover-up that killed. The investigation report on the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations examined crime not faith, but like the journey through Dante's Inferno, the deeper the descent, the more horrific the suffering. Many share the blame.
Perpetrators claiming to represent God committed the foulest crimes against children - formerly hanging offences - while religious denominations practised wilful blindness, protecting paedophiles through cultures of concealment. The Anglican and Catholic churches and the Salvation Army frequently took steps to conceal wrongdoing, according to their concessions and a substantial body of credible evidence.
Victorian governments failed their duty in orphanages and homes. Children suffered multiple betrayals of neglect or abandonment as infants; then when taken into the community's care, they were grievously abused physically, emotionally and sexually.
Silver-haired men cradled photographs of themselves as schoolboys with sunshine smiles. A middle-aged woman presented a happy snap from her first Holy Communion depicting a young bride of Christ. Each memento was a cry from the heart yearning for innocence lost.
ABC News 7.30, Heather Ewart,
A Victorian Parliamentary inquiry has released a scathing report [the report] accusing the Catholic Church of a systemic cover up of child sex abuse cases over years.
Transcript
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: It was another day of reckoning for the Catholic Church today with the Victorian parliamentary inquiry releasing a scathing report accusing the Church of a systemic cover-up of child abuse cases over many years. Other churches and institutions were also slammed for failing in their duty of care to children. The findings could open up hundreds of claims for financial compensation in the courts, as national affairs correspondent Heather Ewart reports.
LES LAST: I've got about four plants in the house, and if they can survive, then I think there's a chance for me.
HEATHER EWART, REPORTER: It's the simple things that help ease a lifetime of suffering for Les Last.
LES LAST: I've been such a failure at so many things for so many years, it still amazes me that I have any desire to attempt anything, you know.
HEATHER EWART: Les Last and his sister Helen share a terrible story. He was
repeatedly sexually abused by a Christian brother at
SBS, Darren Mara
(Transcript from World News
Victims groups say they're satisfied with the outcome of a Victorian parliamentary child sex abuse inquiry.
The inquiry handed down its findings in an 800-page report which recommends
making it a crime in
Darren Mara has this report.
(Click on audio tab above to listen to this item)
The inquiry committee's report recommends that people in positions of authority should be criminally responsible for placing children at risk of harm by other individuals.
Tabled in the Victorian parliament, the report comes after months of committee hearings, during which victims and Victoria Police alleged the Catholic Church had concealed child sexual abuse by clergy members.
The report states that it's only in recent months that senior members of the Catholic Church have accepted responsibility for the church's failure to pay due regard to the safety of children.
It's also recommended that an independent statutory body be established to monitor and oversee the handling of sexual abuse allegations.
ABC News PM, Samantha Donovan,
In its final report, the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations has condemned the Catholic Church for trivialising the problem, failing to hold perpetrators accountable and keeping allegations from the public. The Church has accepted some of the criticism and says it will consider the report's recommendations carefully.
Transcript
MARK COLVIN: The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into child sexual abuse has condemned the Catholic Church for protecting offenders, trivialising abuse and keeping the details from the public.
The inquiry tabled its final report today. It recommends a dramatic overhaul of the handling of abuse in the state's religious and secular organisations.
The Catholic Church has accepted many of the report's findings and says it will consider the recommendations carefully. They include setting up an independent scheme to compensate victims and making it a criminal offence to put a child in danger.
The Victorian Government says it will start drafting legislation to make some of the changes immediately.
Samantha Donovan reports.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: After nearly 600 submissions and more than 150 hearings, the committee conducting the inquiry tabled its report in the Victorian Parliament today.
ABC News PM, Alison Caldwell,
For the survivors of child sexual abuse, the victims and their families who gave evidence to the inquiry, the final report brought tears, joy and some trepidation about what lies ahead. Many want the other states to examine and even adopt the inquiry's recommendations.
Transcript
MARK COLVIN: For the survivors of child sexual abuse, the victims and their families who gave evidence to the Inquiry, the final report brought tears, joy and some trepidation about what lies ahead.
Many want other states to adopt the inquiry's recommendations.
Alison Caldwell reports.
ALISON CALDWELL: The survivors of sexual abuse who were inside the Victorian Parliament today as the report was handed down described it as an historic and wonderful moment.
Many say today's recommendations will go a long way towards protecting children.
ANTHONY FOSTER: I think I feel particularly euphoric that we've got to this point. No doubt about that, and I feel great trepidation about the steps from now on. There are some big organisations out there who are going to be trying to protect their wealth because this was always been about the wealth and reputation of organisations like the Salvation Army, the Catholic Church and others.
VIC, The Age, Barney Zwartz,
It began slowly, amid some well-merited cynicism, but on Wednesday the Victorian inquiry into how the churches handled child sexual abuse delivered – and brilliantly.
Many of the victims who followed the inquiry religiously throughout its dozens of public sessions were almost euphoric after the report, Betrayal of Trust, was tabled in parliament and committee members rose to excoriate the concealers and enablers, and to recommend far-reaching reforms.
It was not just the recommendations, it was the tone. The inquiry had heard the victims – and believed them. It gave the vital verdict: vindication.
The inquiry heard from the church hierarchy too, in particular the Catholic Church – and took a far more sceptical view. The language with which they described the church made that clear, along with their rejection of the church claim that the problem was purely historical, as Archbishops Denis Hart and George Pell had suggested in evidence.
VIC, NEWS.com.au [w/ multiple story links]
· FULL REPORT: Summary | Volume 1 | Volume 2
· FRANK McGUIRE: Agony, betrayal but also courage
· EDITORIAL: New hope for justice
· CHILD
SEX COP: Church was warned for years
· WENDY TUOHY: Church sex-abuse delusion shattered
The reforms follow Wednesday's tabling in State Parliament of a historic report on child abuse, which revealed police were investigating 135 new cases.
Tears flowed as victims stood in the rain to lend their voices in support of the report.
The report slammed leaders of churches and non-government organisations that failed vulnerable children during decades of "betrayal beyond comprehension".
The report, following an 18-month inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations, found "several thousand victims (were) criminally abused in non-government organisations", many of whom had been denied justice.
The Conversation, Olivia Monaghan,
[PhD student in the
Twelve months ago, I wrote an article encouraging inquiries into child sex abuse to treat the church like a corrupt police force. Today, the first of the nation’s inquiries to child sex abuse, run by the Victorian government’s Family and Community Development Committee, released its recommendations, and they have done just that.
This inquiry was established prior to the national Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As such, it focuses on child sex
abuse in Victorian non-government organisations. Above all else, the findings
and recommendations of the inquiry suggest a government-initiated response to
child sex abuse in any part of
As the committee acknowledges, the extent of abuse at the hand of non-government actors (especially in religious organisations) is difficult to measure. However, it reasonably estimates that:
…there have been several thousand victims criminally abused in
non-government organisations in
The nature of the organisations investigated by the inquiry prevents the true extent of the crime from being known. For example, the inquiry found that victims were often deterred or actively discouraged from making allegations of abuse against members of the Catholic Church because of the esteem held by the church and its employees within the community.
VIC,
Will the recommendations of
The inquiry's recommendations are, with one important exception, carefully considered responses to the evidence the bipartisan committee received from 405 written submissions and in more than 160 hearings. Apart from the exception, of which more later, the Napthine Government should implement these recommendations and, if they are later subsumed under all-state legislation recommended by the Royal Commission, that will not render them pointless. They will have been a model and a guide in dealing with a problem that all forms of institutionalised authority — not only the churches — have preferred to avoid dealing with openly for far too long.
That is not to say, of course, that the sexual abuse of children has ever been condoned, let alone treated as less than a serious offence under criminal law. As the inquiry's report notes, buggery of children under 14 and rape were capital crimes until 1949. But that official abhorrence makes all the more lamentable the fact that until the early 1990s abuse happened extensively in non-government institutions, especially the churches, and that perpetrators were typically redeployed rather than being suspended from their duties and the police notified.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
With the royal commission’s examination of the Catholic Church’s response to
child sexual abuse imminent, Archbishop Denis Hart has welcomed the
recommendations of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the issues.
Archbishop Hart, head of both the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and
the Melbourne Archdiocese, said it was hoped the inquiry and its
recommendations “will assist the healing of those who have been abused”.
He said the recommendations covered five important areas: changes to the
criminal law; easier access to the civil justice system; an independent,
alternative avenue for justice; greater independent monitoring and scrutiny of
organisations; and further improvements to prevention systems and processes.
“The committee’s report is rightly called Betrayal of Trust. I have spoken
before about this betrayal and the irreparable damage it has caused. It is the
worst betrayal of trust in my lifetime in the Catholic Church,” Archbishop Hart
said.
“As the inquiry heard, we were far too slow to address the abuse, or even to
accept that it was taking place. I fully acknowledge that leaders in the Church
made terrible mistakes. These are indefensible. We know that the long-term
suffering of victims and their families continues.
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations has been tabled in parliament and released publicly - highlighting 15 recommendations.
The two-volume report entitled Betrayal of Trust is the nation's first major inquiry report to be made public.
The report documents the terrible child abuse that occurred in the Catholic Church, and its failure to recognise and respond to that abuse, mainly over a 25-year period from 1960 to 1985.
The report's key recommendations cover five important areas: changes to the criminal law; easier access to the civil justice system; an independent alternative avenue for justice; greater independent monitoring and scrutiny of organisations and further improvements to prevention systems and processes.
In tabling the report, committee chair Georgie Crozier said children had
suffered unimaginable harm.
"We've not only listened but we have heard," she told the Legislative
Council in
The Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart made the following statement today in response to the release of the report by the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry.
"I welcome the release today of the report by the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry."
"It is our hope that the Inquiry, and its recommendations, will assist the healing of those who have been abused. We also hope they will enhance the care of victims and their families, and strengthen the preventative measures now in place.
"Victims bravely came forward to give their accounts, often at great personal cost. The Inquiry has been an important opportunity for victims to be heard.
"The report documents terrible abuse that occurred in the Catholic Church, mainly over a 25-year period from 1960 to1985. It also sets out inexcusable failures in the Church’s response to that abuse.
"The Committee’s report is rightly called Betrayal of Trust. I have spoken before about this betrayal and the irreparable damage it has caused.
"It is the worst betrayal of trust in my lifetime in the Catholic Church.
VIC, The Australian,
MELBOURNE Archbishop Denis Hart says senior figures in the Catholic Church made indefensible mistakes in response to sexual abuse claims.
Archbishop Hart said the church acknowledged the failings of the past, as highlighted in a Victorian parliamentary report handed down on Wednesday.
"The committee's report is rightly called Betrayal of Trust," he
told reporters in
"It is the worst betrayal of trust in my lifetime.
"I fully acknowledge that leaders in the church made mistakes - these are indefensible."
Archbishop Hart said the church had made significant progress since 1996, when it set up the national Towards Healing protocol and the Melbourne Response to handle abuse complaints.
Herald Sun, Mike Hedge,
THE Catholic Church's "institutional failure" to respond
appropriately to child abuse extends to its leader in
But Cardinal Pell says he welcomes the Victorian inquiry's report and supports many of its recommendations.
The parliamentary inquiry into child abuse took Cardinal Pell to task in its report over his attempt to separate the church as a whole from the actions of senior religious figures it said had "minimalised and trivialised" the issue.
In a swipe at Cardinal Pell's evidence, its report said that following repeated questioning he agreed some bishops and religious superiors had covered up the issue.
"That is quite different from the whole church ... the whole church is not guilty of that," he told the inquiry.
VIC, The Australian
THE Catholic Church's "institutional failure" to respond
appropriately to child abuse extends from parish priests to its leader in
The Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse took Cardinal Pell to task in its report over his attempt to separate the church as a whole from the actions of senior religious figures it said had "minimalised and trivialised" the issue.
In a swipe at Cardinal Pell's evidence, its report said that following repeated questioning he agreed some bishops and religious superiors had covered up the issue.
"That is quite different from the whole church ... the whole church is not guilty of that," he told the inquiry.
9 News
The Anglican Church has backed the recommendations of
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier says the church supports the report's key recommendations.
"It is crucial that children be protected from abuse, and that we continue to strive to ensure that our protocols and processes meet the standards the community expects of us," he said in a statement.
Dr Freier said the Anglican Church would continue to provide full co-operation with the state government in implementing "whatever is necessary" to ensure children were adequately protected and abuse victims were treated with compassion, justice and equity.
9 News
A Victorian parliamentary report into institutional child abuse should allow
reconciliation and justice for victims, the
Moderator of the Victoria and Tasmania Synod Dan Wootton said the report, which recommends making the concealing of child abuse a criminal offence, was a positive development for victims.
Sky News, Aaron Young
Victims got everything they could have hoped for from the Victorian report on child sex abuse, but it can never be enough.
Mick Serch said as great as the inquiry was, the scar of abuse can't ever be healed.
'You can put a bandaid on it but it keeps falling off,' Mr Serch told AAP.
Since he suffered sex abuse at the hands of a Christian Brother when he was in grade five at St Leo's College in Box Hill, Mr Serch has endured chronic depression, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.
'I've also got paranoid schizophrenia which they say is due to the abuse,' he said.
Mr Serch attended a victims' 'rally of hope' on the steps of parliament after the report was tabled on Wednesday.
'The more of this sort of thing we have the better for everyone,' he said.
ABC News, Emily Bourke
The Victorian inquiry into how institutions and organisations responded to child abuse is the latest in dozens of state-based investigations concerned with the sexual abuse of children, either in institutional care, foster care, child migration, or child protection systems. The Royal Commission is expected to gather all of the previous Australian reports, identify the good and bad amongst the recommendations they made, and evaluate their effectiveness.
Transcript
ELEANOR
The World Today's Emily Bourke has been reporting on the Royal Commission and she joins us now.
Emily, how will the Royal Commission - a national inquiry - handle this state-based report?
EMILY BOURKE: Eleanor, it's expected that this will feed into the Royal Commission.
This report out of
In fact The Head of the Royal Commission, Justice Peter McClellan, said this week that over the past 30 years there have been at least 80 state or territory based inquiries that have looked at issues directly relevant to the Commission's work.
ELEANOR
EMILY BOURKE: Eighty. That's right. 80. Now, all of these previous Australian reports will be gathered up and the Royal Commission will try to identify the good and the bad amongst the recommendations and how effective they've been.
ABC News, Alison Caldwell,
As the child abuse inquiry report was handed down in the Victorian Parliament, the public gallery was packed with victims of child sexual abuse, and their families. Some later said they felt a sense of euphoria about the report, but they also had trepidation about the future. They also said they wanted the government to amend laws, as recommended by the report, as quickly as possible.
Transcript
ELEANOR
Our reporter Alison Caldwell spoke to some of them afterwards.
ALISON CALDWELL: Anthony Foster's daughters, Emma and Katie, were repeatedly
raped by their parish priest, Father Kevin O'Donnell, at their primary school
in
The Catholic Church had received numerous complaints about O'Donnell's behaviour dating back to the 1940s, but no action was ever taken.
Emma Foster eventually committed suicide. Her sister Katie was seriously disabled when she was hit by a car after binge drinking and now requires 24 hour care.
Anthony Foster says he and his wife Chrissie feel a sense of euphoria today, but also trepidation about what lies ahead.
Herald Sun, Frank Mcguire,
BETRAYAL of Trust reveals the cover-up that killed. The investigation was into crime, not faith, but like the journey through Dante's Inferno, the deeper the descent, the more horrific the suffering.
Men claiming to represent God committed foul crimes against children, once hanging offences, while religious denominations practised wilful blindness, protecting the paedophiles through cultures of concealment.
The Anglican and Catholic churches and the Salvation Army frequently took steps to conceal wrongdoing, according to their concessions and a substantial body of credible evidence.
Victorian governments failed their duty in orphanages and homes. Children suffered the betrayal of neglect or abandonment as infants, then once taken into the community's care were grievously abused physically, emotionally and sexually.
The fortitude of the innocents who testified was inspiring. Their courage is humbling. Silver-haired men cradled photographs of themselves as smiling schoolboys. A middle-aged woman had a snap from her first Holy Communion. Each memento was a cry from the heart yearning for innocence lost.
Herald Sun, Patrick Caruana
Senior Catholic Church leaders protected pedophiles, allowed them to keep offending and kept Victorians in the dark about the problem.
A Victorian parliamentary report is scathing of the church's leadership prior to the 1990s, saying child abuse was trivialised and their protection of pedophiles meant abuse happened when it could have been avoided.
Archbishop Denis Hart apologised to victims and said previous responses to abuse cases were inexcusable, calling it the worst betrayal of his lifetime in the church.
"I fully acknowledge that leaders in the church made mistakes - these are indefensible," he told reporters.
"I have to accept that church leaders in the past concealed crimes and caused other children to be offended against."
7 News ABC Jeff Waters
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine says the Government will immediately begin drafting legislation in response to the Victorian Parliament's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations.
The report calls for a new law to ensure anyone failing to report serious child abuse or concealing it is guilty of an offence.
The report also recommends the creation of a criminal offence of "grooming" children and a new criminal offence of "endangerment" where figures of authority within institutions can be sanctioned for not taking enough precautions.
The report calls upon the Victorian Government to work with
The Federal Government has six months to respond but Dr Napthine says the Victorian Government will not be waiting.
Sydney Morning Herald, Melissa Iaria
The Salvation Army says it is ashamed and deeply sorry for the "brutal" abuse suffered by many children in its care.
The organisation, which operated a large number of children's homes around the country between 1893 and 1995, apologised to victims and their families for abuse that happened under its watch.
"These offences should never have happened," the organisation said in a statement.
"It was a breach of the trust placed in us and we are deeply sorry.
"The Salvation Army is ashamed of the abuse suffered by many children placed in our care during that time."
A substantial part of evidence received by the Victorian abuse inquiry related to complaints of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in Salvation Army institutions from the 1930s to the 1980s.
9 News
The chairwoman of a committee looking at how
Georgie Crozier MP, who chaired the community development committee's inquiry, could not say how many Victorian children suffered abuse at the hands of religious and other organisations, but it was significant.
"I was surprised by the extent of the abuse across the state," she told reporters.
"It was very widespread. Obviously the community of Ballarat was significantly affected."
Ms Crozier says the inquiry believes there are many more people yet to disclose similar abuse.
Pedophile clerics abused children, thinking their crimes would not be revealed, a Victorian parliamentary report says.
Citing a Ballarat school at which four pedophile staff were employed in the 1970s, the report says pedophiles often relied on the protection of their religion.
"Offenders who were members of religious organisations were confident that they could abuse their victims and that their activities would not be revealed," the report, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, says.
"Victims have explained that upon reporting criminal child abuse to other members of the religious organisation, no action was taken or that they were physically punished."
The committee says it is concerned the Christian Brothers cannot explain the "startling" situation in which four staff at St Alipius primary school, including Brother Robert Best and Brother Edward Dowlan, were later convicted of sexual offences.
Courier, Fiona Henderson
OVER the past nine months, I attended three public hearings of the state government inquiry into institutionalised child abuse.
During the first, in Ballarat, I heard graphic descriptions of rape and abuse that no child should ever have to endure.
In
I heard the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, try to rationalise the church's blatant failings regarding children in its care.
And I also observed a passionate committee of six MPs of all persuasions refusing to accept excuses or be awed by titles.
VIC,
"We recognise the hurt victims suffered," he said.
Bishop Tomlinson said the church had introduced procedures to address allegations of child abuse.
"In the first instance, victims are urged to contact the police," he said.
"Where an allegation is sustained, financial compensation and counselling is provided.
"Reality is it can be a challenge to find effective ways to heal people who have been hurt in this way."
VIC, The Australian, John Ferguson,
THE nation's first major inquiry into religious child sex abuse has recommended a sweeping legislative overhaul to curb future criminality.
The Victorian Parliament inquiry also has slammed the behaviour of the Catholic Church for failure to deal with the decades long problem.
The inquiry has called for the lifting of the statute of limitations on offences to assist victims to pursue justice.
It calls for the introduction of a criminal offence relating to child endangerment and backs a criminal offence of grooming.
The report calls for a law to be introduced calling for a new crime of failing to report a serious indictable offence.
As revealed in The Australian, the report backs an independent body to administer a scheme for dealing with victim claims.
Herald Sun, James Campbell,
THE Christian Brothers spent more than $1.1m over 15 years defending paedophile Brother Robert Best before he was finally jailed 2011 after pleading guilty to aggravated indecent assaults against children.
On another occasion, the Catholic Order hired private investigators to investigate victims who had complained to police about one of its members.
Wednesday's report of the parliamentary inquiry into child abuse slammed the Catholic Church, saying it had "made a deliberate choice to pursue a course of concealing the problem of criminal child abuse."
Worse, Church leaders had conceded "the Church had adopted a policy of cover-up and that this involved concealing offending, and moving priests and other religious to areas where further abuse then occurred".
In dealing with the problem, the Church had been motivated by its desire "to protect itself" the Committee found.
ABC News
A victim of church-related sexual abuse has hailed the tabling of the Victorian Parliament's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations as a "watershed" moment.
The report outlines 15 recommendations to end abuse, including the creation of new criminal offences for concealing abuse and endangerment.
The report also calls for the creation of an independent tribunal to hear abuse complaints.
Premier Denis Napthine has pledged to immediately start drafting legislation in response to the inquiry's recommendations.
"We will act and act immediately to protect children in
Abuse victims who were in the public gallery stood and hugged each other after the report was tabled.
A former school teacher, who lost her job after pursuing a sex abuse case, called it a watershed moment, while another victim said the tabling of the report is immensely important.
Sky News
More than 100 new allegations of sexual abuse have been referred to Victorian police as a result of the state's parliamentary inquiry into child abuse.
The final report of the inquiry says that as of
The report says more referrals are expected as a review of submissions made to the inquiry continued.
'As could be expected, the establishment of the inquiry and the task force ... encouraged more victims to report abuse to the police,' the report says.
Task force members attended all hearings, liaised with witnesses, gave assistance when required and in some cases the committee arranged for police to seek further information or clarification.
A national compensation scheme is needed immediately for victims of sexual abuse, a Catholic Church body says.
Francis Sullivan, the chief executive of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, which co-ordinates the church's response to the royal commission into child sex abuse, has called on the federal attorney-general to establish the scheme now rather than wait for the commission's findings to be released.
"We think the attorney-general should meet as soon as possible with the state and territories to establish a national scheme for compensation," Mr Sullivan said.
"People should not have to wait around for the end of the royal commission for other states and territories to address these matters."
AT last, the silent victims of sexual abuse of church clergy and other institutions have been given a unified voice.
The emotional tabling of a parliamentary inquiry into the enduring scandal is a major step forward in preventing and detecting future abuse, identifying risks and, hopefully, in healing.
For decades, lone victims have fought church hierarchy and a fraught legal system for true justice — recognition of the depth of damage caused by paedophile priests let loose on those they were obliged to protect.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
It is a shameful hypocrisy the Catholic and some other church organisations not only allowed this biblical tenet to be systemically and horribly breached, but then worked to cover up abuse and deny victims access to justice or, in some cases, even recognition.
Rappler, Martin Parry, Agence France-Presse
Its report tabled in the Victorian parliament follows a long-running probe
and concluded that "we can reasonably estimate that there have been
several thousand victims criminally abused in non-government organizations in
The most senior Catholic in Victoria, Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, previously admitted to the hearing that the Church had been too slow to act on pedophile priests, but insisted things had changed.
The report, "Betrayal of Trust", said failure to report serious child abuse should lead to prosecution, a move likely to conflict with the church's insistence that information gathered in the confessional should remain secret.
The state government’s eagerly awaited report on clergy child sex abuse recommends sweeping changes to laws behind which the Catholic Church has sheltered, and accused its leaders of trivialising the problem as a ‘‘short-term embarrassment’’.
Launching the report in State Parliament, inquiry chairwoman Georgie Crozier spoke of ‘‘a betrayal beyond comprehension’’ and children suffering ‘‘unimaginable harm’’.
She said the inquiry had referred 135 previously unreported claims of child sex abuse to the police.
The report into how the churches handled clergy sexual abuse wants to establish a new crime for people in authority knowingly to put a child a risk, and to make it a crime not to report suspected child abuse or to leave a child at risk, which apparently includes what priests hear in the confessional.
THAT child sexual abuse by clergy has been found to be considered by Church hierarchy as “a short-term embarrassment” and not a reason to question their own culture is a toxic delusion hopefully to be exploded by today’s State Government report. It found the abuse of trust of children and parents was beyond comprehension.
Committee member Andrea Coote said the committee found current Catholic leadership saw child sexual abuse as something that could be minimalized and trivialised, and that “a sliding morality has emerged in the Catholic Church”. How terrifying, how dangerous and yes, how incomprehensible.
As chairwoman Georgie Crozier said tabling the Betrayal of Trust report, and as became painfully clear during the committee’s hearings, the children betrayed by trusted figures in organisations of high standing suffered unimaginable harm.
“Parents experienced a betrayal beyond comprehension, and the community was betrayed by the failure of organisations to protect children in their care,” Ms Crozier told Parliament.
Herald Sun, Matt Johnston, James Campbell, Annika Smethurst,
HORRIFIC sexual abuse cover-ups by the Catholic Church has led to a parliamentary committee recommending new offences for grooming children and failing to report crimes.
The nation's first inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and
other organisations found several thousand children were criminally abused by
people within non-government organisations in
Committee chair Georgie Crozier has tabled the report in State Parliament and urged the Napthine Government to act on recommendations.
As revealed by the Herald Sun last week, the new laws proposed include compulsory reporting to police, with those who conceal child abuse able to be charged.
Courier Mail, Keith Moor,
NOTHING in the new parliamentary report on sexual abuse cover-ups by the Catholic Church comes as a surprise to paedophile catcher Chris O'Connor.
He was reactiing to the horrific sexual abuse cover-ups by the Catholic Church which has led to a parliamentary committee recommending new offences for grooming children and failing to report crimes.
The nation's first inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and
other organisations found several thousand children were criminally abused by
people within non-government organisations in
The recently retired detective senior sergeant has been Victoria Police's child sex expert for decades.
He has been warning for years about the disgraceful behaviour of the Catholic Church and other institutions with responsibility for caring for children
Sen-Sgt O'Connor said evidence suggested some priests chose to be priests because of the hold it would give them over children they could abuse, just as other paedophiles were attracted to jobs which gave them easy access to children.
VIC, NEWS.com.au
SEXUAL abuse victims and their supporters burst into tears and applause as they welcomed a State Parliament report calling for sweeping new laws to protect children.
Some said the recommendations, including for new offences related to grooming and cover-ups, offered a "glimmer of hope" that children would be better protected.
Others called for a fresh look at compensation paid by churches to victims.
Chrissie Foster, two of whose three daughters were raped by a Catholic priest, Kevin O'Donnell, while they were in primary school, said the release of the report was a happy occasion.
One daughter, Emma, committed suicide in 2008.
Emma's sister, Katie, became a heavy drinker and was left disabled when hit
by a drunk driver in 1999.
Despite the family's tragedies, Ms Foster said the release of the report of the
parliamentary inquiry was a happy occasion for victims.
The Australian, Hannah Jenkins,
VICTORIAN Premier Denis Napthine has condemned the culture of the Catholic Church in The Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into religious child sex abuse.
Dr Napthine said the Catholic Church had failed in its duty to protect the welfare of young children who had suffered in the hands of people they had every right to trust.
"The leaders of the Catholic Church should hang their heads in shame," he said.
Dr Napthine criticised the Catholic Church for decades of concealing abuse and not taking action against the perpetrators responsible.
"The culture seemed to be putting the interests of the church and its priests ahead of the interests of children and victims, and that is totally and utterly wrong,' he said
VIC, ABC News,
These are the 15 recommendations of the Victorian Parliament's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations
Reform criminal law
Compulsory reporting to police - Legislative amendments to ensure that a person who fails to report or conceals criminal child abuse will be guilty of an offence.
A new child endangerment offence - Making it a criminal offence for people in authority to knowingly put a child at risk, or fail to remove them from a known risk, of criminal child abuse.
A new grooming offence - The creation of a separate
criminal offence extending beyond current grooming laws to make it an offence
to groom a child, their parents or others with the intention of committing a
sexual offence against the child (regardless of whether the sexual
offence occurs).
Easier access to the civil justice system
Address legal entity of non-government organisations - Require non-government organisations to be incorporated and adequately insured.
New structures - The Victorian Government is to work with the Australian Government to require organisations that engage with children to adopt incorporated legal structures.
Remove time limits - Legislative amendments to exclude criminal child abuse from the current statute of limitations, recognising that it can take decades for victims to come forward.
9 News,
Incorporating non-government bodies so they can be sued is a landmark recommendation from the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse, lawyers say.
Judy Courtin, a lawyer who is conducting research into sexual assault and the Catholic Church, says the recommendations contained in the inquiry report are extremely comprehensive.
"They address all the criteria for justice for victims and their families," she told AAP.
She said at the moment the Catholic Church did not exist as an entity so could not be sued.
The committee has recommended such bodies be incorporated or miss out on tax exemptions and government funding.
"I think that's a landmark recommendation," Ms Courtin said.