Cardinal George Pell has admitted that he wanted to avoid big damages verdicts when he set up a response to deal with child sex abuse complaints in the Church. Cardinal Pell said this in giving evidence before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse in Sydney. The Melbourne Response, which Cardinal Pell Read more
Cardinal George Pell will give evidence at Royal Commission hearings dealing with child sex abuse before he leaves for Rome. A hearing in Sydney of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will examine the experience of abuse victim John Ellis. Mr Ellis’s claim of abuse by a priest in the 1970s Read more
Sacked former Bishop of Toowoomba, Bill Morris, is expected to give testimony at the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Brisbane. Before being sacked by Pope Benedict over ongoing doctrinal issues, Morris, formally admitted Catholic Church liability, opening the door to a large compensation payout to 13 schoolgirls. The Brisbane hearing Read more
In a recent statement the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said “tens of thousands of children worldwide” were abused systemically for years within the Catholic Church. In commenting on the report, the National Director of the Office for Professional Standards, Mr Bill Kilgallon told Radio New Zealand that in New Zealand all Read more
An inquiry into how the Catholic Church in Australia dealt with victims of child sex abuse has heard how a flawed process re-traumatised some victims. Twelve years after being silenced by the Catholic Church, Joan Isaacs can now tell the world about the sexual and emotional abuse inflicted upon her as a schoolgirl. Ms Isaacs Read more
The Catholic Church in Australia has declared it wants the truth exposed before the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, and has pledged it will pay appropriate compensation to victims. The chief executive of the Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council — which will represent the Church at the royal commission — Read more
The rate of convictions of Catholic Church personnel for sex abuse in Australia seems “strikingly out of proportion” with the size of the Church compared with other faith communities, according to research by a law professor at the University of Sydney. “While there are some similar patterns in terms of victims’ age and gender, the Read more
The awful record of the institutional Catholic church’s leadership in dealing with the scandal of clerical sex abuse of minors has clearly, and rightly, been a trigger for the federal government’s Royal Commission into sexual abuse of children in Australia. This is a record that has already prompted other inquiries here and overseas. It would indeed be Read more
On Wednesday Peter McClellan, the NSW Supreme Court Judge leading the royal commission into child abuse in institutions, told the media that the commission’s task will be long and complex. No surprises there. His point was to contain expectations among the media that the commission would be anything other than a hard slog, and that Read more
A lay-led Truth, Justice and Healing Commission will co-ordinate the Catholic Church’s response to the forthcoming Australian royal commission on sexual abuse. Its chairman will be a retired Supreme Court judge, Barry O’Keefe, QC and its chief executive officer will be another prominent layman, Francis Sullivan. The only other member named so far is Dr Read more