Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria explained

The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Victoria is part of the Catholic clerical sexual abuse in Australia and the much wider Catholic sexual abuse scandal in general, which involves charges, convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders.[1] The Catholic Church in Victoria has been implicated in a reported 40 suicides among about 620 sexual abuse victims acknowledged to the public after internal investigations by the Catholic Church in Victoria.

Following a preliminary 2012 police investigation, on 17 April 2012 the Government established the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations "to inquire into, consider and report to the Parliament on the processes by which religious and other non-government organisations respond to the criminal abuse of children by personnel within their organisations."[2] The Inquiry tabled its report to Parliament on 13 November 2013 and the Government tabled its response to the Inquiry's recommendations on 8 May 2014.[3]

History of abuse

In April 2012, citing press reports that police were preparing a coronial brief on some 40 suicides linked to sexual abuse by clergy, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said he thought "that Victoria Police should give the report to the Coroner. There needs to be a proper investigation of any suicides."[4] [5] [6] [7]

Shortly after press reports of the deaths based on a leaked police report written by Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson[8] the Victorian government moved for the Family and Community Development Committee of the Victorian Parliament to investigate "into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations." The committee commenced an inquiry into "the processes by which religious and other non-government organisations respond to the criminal abuse of children by personnel within their organisations".[9] Archbishop Hart made a submission to the parliamentary committee on behalf of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Victoria, called Facing the Truth.[10] In a preliminary statement it indicated that: "In the past 16 years, about 620 cases of criminal child abuse have been upheld by the Church in Victoria. Most claims relate to incidents from 30 and up to 80 years ago. The Church has received very few complaints of abuse that has taken place since 1990." Reasoning that because sexual abuse is rarely reported, campaign groups believe these numbers may represent only a fraction of the cases which actually occurred.[11]

Regarding the inquiry, Shane Mackinlay, master of the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne, said, "Our submission [faces] the truth of those sort of numbers and the horrific extent and the horrific consequences for each of the victims represented by the numbers... Where there was absolutely dramatic and appalling rates of abuse in the 1970s and 1980s, that's dropped off extraordinarily." The submission to Parliament was not released in full.[12]

Archbishop Hart made a statement about the "horrific abuse": "We look to this inquiry to assist the healing of those who have been abused, to examine the broad context of the church's response, especially over the last 16 years, and to make recommendations to enhance the care for victims and preventative measures that are now in place."

The Inquiry finished holding hearings in mid-2013 and tabled its report to Parliament on 13 November 2013 and the Government tabled its response to the Inquiry's recommendations on 8 May 2014. The Government supported all the recommendations of the Inquiry, some of them in principle and others of which had already been implemented.[3]

In May 2020 newly disclosed portions of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse report, which was originally published in redacted form in December 2017, revealed that priests and clergy staff accused of abusing children within the Archdiocese of Melbourne were sometimes "dealt with" by being transferred to other parishes.

Individual cases

On 11 April 2020 it was revealed that Pell, who is still facing multiple sex abuse lawsuits,[32] stated in an interview with Sky News journalist Andrew Bolt, which aired on Sky News Australia on 14 April 2020, that he was "ashamed" of the way the Catholic church handled sex abuse cases and that failures to act on the abuse, which he referred to as "cancer," still haunted him.[33] [34] However, he still denied committing the alleged Melbourne sex abuse, claiming "I don't know" why one of his alleged victims testified against him and even suggested that the alleged victim who testified may have been "used."[35] On 16 April 2020 Pell was denied a reinstatement as Vice-Patron and club ambassador of the Richmond Football Club.[36] [37]

On 6 May 2020 it was revealed that the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had determined that Pell, who was serving as Archbishop of Melbourne in 1997, shielded Peter Searson from potential prosecution.[38] In 2014, Helen Last, the former director of the Archdiocese of Melbourne's pastoral response office, claimed that in 1997, Pell blocked her from doing more to investigate the claims against Searson, telling her in letter "under control" and "there remains no need for any pro-active measures from your office", and then was removed her from her post one month later after she defied his order. On 7 May 2020, previously undisclosed details of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse report, which was first published in December 2017 with redacted edits,[39] were made public and revealed that Pell neglected reports he received as Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne that Searson sexually abused children that as early as 1989, also neglected reports which were used as evidence to mount a sex abuse investigation of Searson, which were his use of children's toilets and habit of torturing animals in front of his students.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Child abuse scandals faced by Roman Catholic Church . 12 March 2010 . The Telegraph . United Kingdom . 21 September 2011.
  2. Web site: Parliament of Victoria - Reference. www.parliament.vic.gov.au.
  3. Web site: Report and Response . Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations . Parliament of Victoria . 2014 . 21 May 2015 .
  4. News: Archbishop says suicide report should be given to the Coroner. Hart. Denis. 13 April 2012. Media Release. Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. 27 September 2012. 4 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220133/http://www.cam.org.au/News-and-Events/News-and-Events/Melbourne-News/Article/9160/archbishop-says-suicide-report-should-be-given-to-the-coroner. dead.
  5. News: Police prepare coronial brief on Catholic Church abuse suicides. Hobday. Liz. The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 February 2012. 27 September 2012.
  6. News: Victoria announces inquiry into clergy child abuse. Bell. Frances. 17 April 2012. Lateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 September 2012.
  7. News: Victoria launches child abuse inquiry. Donovan. Samantha. 17 April 2012. PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 September 2012.
  8. Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker and Jane Lee. (13 April 2012). Church's suicide victims Canberra Times
  9. Web site: Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations: terms of reference. Ballieu MLA. Ted. 17 April 2012. Parliament of Victoria. 27 September 2012.
  10. News: Facing the Truth. 21 September 2012. Media Release. Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. 27 September 2012.
  11. Web site: Australian Roman Catholic Church admits child sex abuse. 22 September 2012. BBC News.
  12. Web site: Australian Roman Catholic Church admits child sex abuse. Jonathan Pearlman. The Telegraph. 22 September 2012.
  13. News: Applause as 'evil' priest gets more jail . Melbourne . The Age . Dan . Silkstone . 23 October 2003.
  14. News: Speak no evil . Ellingsen, Peter . 4 May 2002 . The Age . 30 January 2012 . Melbourne.
  15. News: Higgins. Ean. Penny-pinching justice. 24 September 2012. The Australian. 14 August 2007.
  16. Broken Rites Australia, Pedophile priest Bill Baker dies while facing more charges
  17. News: Ex-priest who drugged and raped 12-year-old boy gets reduced jail time. Wilson, Amber . . 3 August 2018. 28 February 2019.
  18. News: Angry victim of 'creepy priest' reveals details of Pell apology. ABC News. 25 November 2015.
  19. Web site: Frustration over abuse response at Melbourne Catholic school.
  20. Web site: George Pell: Cardinal was aware of children being sexually abused, royal commission report finds. TheGuardian.com. 7 May 2020.
  21. Web site: Amber Louise's story. 23 October 2017.
  22. News: Ex-priest David Edwin Rapson jailed for 'heartless' sex abuse of students. Akerman, Pia. The Australian. 17 October 2013. 28 February 2019.
  23. News: Frank Klep, former Victorian Catholic priest and teacher at Salesian College, sentenced to 10 years in prison. Crayon, Peta. . Australia . 26 May 2014. 28 February 2019.
  24. Web site: Cardinal Pell jailed in Australia ahead of 13 March sentencing. 27 February 2019. National Catholic Reporter.
  25. Web site: Marist brother who sexually assaulted five boys sentenced to nine months' jail. Australian Associated Press. 3 September 2018. www.theguardian.com.
  26. Web site: Pell wakes up in 'Boneyard' prison after child sex offences conviction. www.9news.com.au.
  27. News: Cardinal Pell likely to be stripped of Order of Australia – as it happened . . 21 August 2019 . 22 September 2019 . McGown, Michael .
  28. News: Cardinal George Pell has child sex abuse convictions upheld by Australian court . Austin, Henry . . United Kingdom . 21 August 2019 . 22 September 2019 .
  29. News: George Pell seeks leave to appeal child sex abuse convictions in High Court . Sarah . Farnsworth . . 17 September 2019 . 22 September 2019.
  30. Web site: Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps. www.theaustralian.com.au.
  31. News: Cardinal George Pell out of prison after Australia's High Court overturns abuse convictions. Phil Helsel and The Associated Press. NBC News. 7 April 2020. 7 April 2020.
  32. Web site: Vatican welcomes Pell verdict, affirms anti-abuse resolve as survivors protest.
  33. Web site: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Pell reveals Catholic Church shame in wake of child sex 'cancer'. 11 April 2020.
  34. Web site: Pell: Abusers 'a cancer' in Catholic Church. 11 April 2020.
  35. Web site: George Pell tells Andrew Bolt the man who testified against him may have been 'used'. TheGuardian.com. 14 April 2020.
  36. News: No Vice Patron role for Pell: Richmond. The Australian.
  37. News: Tigers won’t reinstate Pell as club ambassador. Herald Sun.
  38. News: Pell ‘surprised’ by commission’s views. The Australian.
  39. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/royal-commission-child-sex-abuse-case-studies/9250972 The sex abuse royal commission went to some dark places - here is some of what it found.
  40. News: The Catholic Church said Stephanie was lying about abuse. More than 20 years later, Eileen has cleared her daughter's name. ABC News. 26 April 2020.
  41. Web site: Convicted priest Gerard Mulvale (Pallottine Fathers).