In a 'searing' editorial in the diocesan newspaper, "Our Diocesan Community", Jirik compared the challenge facing the diocese akin to the Protestant Reformation of some 500 years back.

The Ballarat Catholic Diocese needs "more Catholics to support their parishes, not just the same parishioners supporting it more," he wrote.

Jirik told The Courier the diocese had a problem that cannot be solved until it is addressed.

Pointing out that diocesan finances are different from parish finances, he said that not all 116 churches in the diocese might survive.

"People are turning away from the church, there's no question, but until we admit we've got a problem, we can't address it."

Among the issues Jirik identified as problematic are:

• diminishing finances,
• rising costs,
• a lack of planning and prioritisation,
• a lack of capability,
• a lack of expertise,
• duplication of services,
• 'cultural' attitudes,
• and strategically insufficient funds at the diocese level, and
• insufficient resources to provide for the long-term sustainability of parishes.

Jirik cited the Dunolly parish is a good example of changing demographics.

150 years ago, with a population of 12,000, parishioners donated to build a large church, but now, the population is closer to 900.

The parish has a regular mass attendance of around 17 people.

"We've got people holding on, and I'm saying, well, that's fine, but there's a cost in all that, or we can do this in a way that's a bit more structured."

The value of land is also an issue, especially in small towns.

"There's buildings insured for millions of dollars but not worth millions, in fact they're costing us money to hold, and even if the building was worth anything, the land is not worth much," he said.

"Parishes in Warrnambool or Daylesford, they can do okay out of the land, but the building itself is not worth much."

To continue charitable parish work, the parishes should be looking at "other income streams", he added.

"We've gone down from 51 to 41 (parishes), and we've got plans to shrink it even further to get more efficiency out of it," he said.

"If we don't do anything, half won't survive".

"The reality is, people aren't turning up, so there's a question, do we need all the parishes? Do you need all the priests?"

Jirik said the revelations of paedophile priests and alleged cover-ups have not helped people return.

"I go to Mass on a Sunday afternoon at 5pm, and particularly in May there's a lot of people getting their confirmations, but after they've got it, and they're into a Catholic school, their connection with the parish, or the church, just disappears," he said.

"They're not there supporting the parish like they used to".

"Even the Catholics aren't turning up."

"The people have spoken," he said.

Source

• The Courier

The auditors found the diocese met 73 per cent of new safeguarding recommendations and is working on the remaining 27 per cent.

The audit focused on the diocese's approaches to child safety and structures for complaint response and management.

It involved auditors visiting a sample of parishes, reviewing the structures they have in place and interviewing staff and volunteers.

Among those audited were the diocese office, Catholic Education Office, and Centacare.

The audit found the diocese has:

• Clear, structured procedures for complaints handling and reporting requirements
• A pastoral approach in the handling active complaints
• Formal risk management practices to address potential incidents or concerns.

The audit concluded the diocese has fully implemented or substantially progressed in the implementation of 75 of the 103 relevant indicators.

Of those 75, 44 were marked 'managed and measurable'. Another 26 are in the initial stages.

Two more - one relating to cultural safety training and the other to monitoring internet use by personnel are yet to be addressed.

The diocese welcomed the audit report.

"The audit confirmed that the diocese is already addressing most of the points set out in the standards," it said in a statement.

"At the same time, the auditors have identified areas for improvement, including more diocesan support to promote consistent safeguarding practices across all parishes, the provision of information to children about safeguarding, and the training of volunteers in safeguarding procedures.

"The diocese has accepted all of the audit recommendations and will work to implement them."

A spokesperson for Catholic Professional Standards Limited says constant vigilance is needed to protect children. The audit process is part of that.

"The standards are really all about putting things in place, but you don't just set and forget," she said.

"Child protection, and vulnerable adults, protecting anyone vulnerable in the community in an organisational context, this requires constant vigilance and constant checking to see if the systems you've put in place are working."

Source

• The Courier
• Image: Wikipedia

The Commission's report says a culture of secrecy and failures in the church's structure led to children being abused across the diocese over a number of decades.

"That failure led to the suffering and often irreparable harm to children, their families and the wider community."

The Commission found that the Church did not act in the children's interests, which meant the abuse situation the children were in continued.

The abuse could have been avoided if the Church had acted in the interests of children.

Three public hearings into the Ballarat situation looked at the effect of child sexual abuse on an entire town.

They revealed the extent of child sex abuse across parishes, schools and homes.

Ninety per cent of the 140 abuse complaints reported to the diocese related to seven priests.

Over half the complaints concerned Gerald Ridsdale.

He held 16 appointments over his 29-year career as a priest.

His crimes were detailed in over 100 pages of the report.

They were spread across western Victoria where he was given 16 appointments over a period of 29 years.

The report says the bishop at the time, Ronald Mulkearns, knew of Ridsdale's abuse as early as 1975.

Hundreds of children were molested while Mulkearns was bishop.

He moved priests between parishes as rumours of their offending grew.

The commissioners found the response of the Diocese to complaints and concerns about different priests "was remarkably and disturbingly similar".

The Christian Brothers also come under fire in the report.

The religious order operated six schools in Ballarat and Warrnambool.

Four of the St Alipius boys school's Brothers and Ridsdale, who was their chaplain, were accused of sexually assaulting children.

All but one, who died before charges could be laid, have been convicted.

The Commissioners found the Brothers' response to complaints was "grossly inadequate".

They say they "completely failed … to protect the most vulnerable children in their care", operating within a structure "without checks and balances".

"On some occasions, the response to allegations or reports of Christian Brothers conducting themselves in a sexually inappropriate manner with children was dismissive," the Commissioners say.

One of the victims said it was a travesty that no individual had been charged with criminal negligence for the abuse committed in Ballarat.

"You know, it's basically a crime against humanity ...They're actually the criminals, not us, and this report shows that they did know, and they did cover up the crimes and hopefully they're liable and put in jail like they should be."

He said some of his classmates committed suicide to end their suffering.

Justin Driscoll, the Vicar General of the Ballarat Diocese, says the church accepted the findings.

Source

• ABC News
• Herald Sun
• Image: The Courier

Bishop Peter Connors said his predecessor in Ballarat diocese, Bishop Ronald Mulkearns, made "terrible errors" and showed "great naivety" in moving paedophiles Gerald Ridsdale and Paul David Ryan from parish to parish despite knowing they were child abusers.

"I can't see how a bishop could possibly do the things Bishop Mulkearns did today," said Bishop Connors, who was bishop of Ballarat from 1997 until last year.

Later, when current Bishop Paul Bird said the Church's emphasis was now on victims, Bishop Connors added: "We were listening to insurers and lawyers, who said 'admit nothing'."

Bishop Bird said the diocese had accepted 107 of 116 claims of child abuse, of which 67 were by Ridsdale — who was laicised in 1993 and is eligible for release from jail this year, aged 79.

He said Bishop Mulkearns should have removed Ridsdale from ministry when the first complaint was made against him in 1975.

"From my reading of the accounts it wasn't wilful blindness. It was a tragic mistake on his part," Bishop Bird ssaid.

"He explained it to me.... It was, he believed, the accepted opinion at the time that dismissal was not the first option, but that a person might be referred for treatment in the hope that they can correct their behaviour."

Bishop Bird said Bishop Mulkearns had decided not to appear at the inquiry because he "had a stroke some years ago and his ability to concentrate or remember details is now quite limited".

The inquiry chairwoman asked whether Bishop Mulkearns still regularly said Mass. Told yes, she required that he appear at a future date.

The Catholic Church's insurer told the inquiry it has paid out about $NZ36 million to 600 victims of child abuse in Victoria. Catholic Church Insurance chief executive officer Peter Rush said it refused to make payouts for offences that occurred after the date the Church had knowledge of an offender.

Sources:

The Age

The Age

9News

Facing the Truth (Catholic response to inquiry)

Image: The Age