The Australian Royal Commission’s report into child abuse has made 409 recommendations, 15 of them directed at the Catholic church. In an initial response to the report, a Vatican Press Office released a statement saying the report is a thorough effort that “deserves to be studied seriously.” It reiterated the commitment of the Holy See Read more
Mr Bill Kilgallon, director of the National Office for Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, has been attending a meeting in Rome of The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He was one of three people to speak when Pope Francis met with the commission face-to-face for the first time. Together Read more
Celibacy and secrecy are the major reasons child abuse is so prevalent in the Catholic Church, a new report says. The report, Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Interpretive Review of the Literature and Public Inquiry Reports, was co-authored by Prof Des Cahill and theologian Dr Peter Wilkinson. Cahill, who helped the Australian Read more
A US grand jury report released this week indicted three Franciscan friars for alleged mishandling of members of the order who were accused of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1960s. Charged for endangering the welfare of children and criminal conspiracy were Giles A. Schinelli, 73, Robert J. D’Aversa, 69, and Anthony M. Criscitelli, Read more
Recent media coverage of Cardinal George Pell’s recall to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has ignited public debate on whether churches are willing to face up to child sexual abuse. Tim Minchin’s “musical attack” on Cardinal Pell has been a lightning rod for debate on social media. Against a background Read more
The Australian government and other bodies should pay towards compensation for victims abused as children in institutions, a royal commission head says. Justice Peter McClellan said some Australian institutions where children were abused either have no money or no longer exist. He chairs the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Justice McClellan Read more
The Catholic Church in Australia has proposed a national redress scheme for survivors of child sex abuse, funded by institutions responsible for the harm. The Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council told Australia’s Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that such a scheme should be run by the federal government. The council’s Read more
Sex abuse victims who tell their stories are the new missionaries to the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn says. In an interview with the Canberra Times, Archbishop Christopher Prowse said the Church is going through an “unprecedented crisis”. “There is so much shame, there is so much humiliation with the criminal acts Read more
Police officers in the United Kingdom investigating hundreds of historic child sex abuse cases are at breaking point psychologically, a clinician warns. Dr Noreen Tehrani, who advises specialist child abuse detectives,says many officers suffering exhaustion, secondary trauma and stress. Pressure from politicians has also forced officers to divert attention from children at risk now to Read more
Attempts to send a former Catholic brother back to Australia to face hundreds of child sex charges are subject to further delays. Bernard Kevin McGrath, 65, faces 252 child sex charges in Australia, and the Australian government is seeking to extradite him. A Christchurch district court judge agreed to McGrath’s extradition on June 11, 2013, Read more