The Catholic Church in Australia revealed that at least 620 children have become victims of sex abuse by clergy since the 1930s.
The revelation was made in a submission to a state parliamentary hearing on Friday.
“It is shameful and shocking that this abuse, with its dramatic impact on those who were abused and their families, was committed by Catholic priests, religious and church workers,” said Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart.
A report by The Australian, however, said instances of abuse had fallen dramatically from the “appalling” numbers of the 1960s and 1970s.
Pope Benedict XVI told Australian bishops last year that their work had been made more difficult by the clerical sex abuse scandal which has rocked the church. The pope exhorted the bishops to “repair the errors of the past with honesty”.
The Australian Church said most of the 620 criminal abuse claims it had upheld over the last 16 years related to incidents 30 to 80 years ago, with very few related to abuse that has taken place since 1990.
Archbishop Hart said the church had taken steps to redress the issue, including a program implemented in the 1990s involving an independent investigation, an ongoing program of counselling and support, and compensation.
“This submission shows how the Church of today is committed to facing up to the truth and to not disguising, diminishing or avoiding the actions of those who have betrayed a sacred trust,” he said.
“We acknowledge the suffering and trauma endured by children who have been in the Church’s care, and the effect on their families. We renew our apology to them,” he said in a statement in which he spoke for Church leaders in Victoria.
But victims’ supporters say the number of children abused was likely much higher than that confirmed by the church in its own inquiries.
Chrissie Foster, whose two daughters were raped by their parish priest from the mid-1980s, said the church had had decades to address the issue but had only revealed the figure to the Victorian inquiry last week.
“It’s only been victims coming out and going to the police that has stopped all of this,” she told the ABC.
“The church has never lifted a finger to stop their paedophile priests,” added Ms Foster, who said one of her daughters had ultimately taken her own life.
Sources