Abuse Victims Demand Church Make Amends, by Joel Gibson, Sydney Morning Herald, July 12, 2008

Abuse Victims Demand Church Make Amends

By Joel Gibson
Sydney Morning Herald
July 12, 2008

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/abuse-victims-demand-church-make-amends/2008/07/11/1215658130123.html

FORTY years on and Michael Scull is still an angry man.

But like many victims of abuse by Catholic clergy, his rage has shifted from Father Jack Ayers, the Salesian priest who buggered him at Rupertswood school in Sunbury, Victoria, to the Catholic Church hierarchy.

When he reported the abuse to the Salesians religious order about a decade ago, he said he was told Father Ayers was out of reach of children - and the Australian authorities - in Samoa.

But he later learnt from an employee of the Salesians that the ageing priest had since visited Melbourne and been allowed to return to the Pacific.

Anthony Jones … threatened by church, lawyers (left), Michael Scull...was given 'filthy hush money'

The Provincial of the Salesians order, Father Frank Moloney, said Mr Scull was "quite unstable" and did not understand that Father Ayers had the right to return to the country because he had not been charged.

He would not say how many complaints had been received by the order, or how many victims had received compensation.

Scull now uses the $45,000 of what he calls the "filthy hush money" the Salesians paid him to campaign for greater transparency. He broke his confidentiality agreement to speak to the Herald.

Father Chris Riley was also a student of Father Ayers. He said he was unaware of sexual abuse at the school but he deals daily with victims in his Youth Off The Streets ministry and called it a poisonous and insidious issue.

"Whenever I see violence in kids, I always ask if they've been sexually assaulted," he said.

Church abuse victims and their families are holding their breath for a papal apology this week.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has said he hopes Pope Benedict will say sorry, as His Holiness did to victims in the United States in April.

For some, however, even that gesture would be empty given what they describe as the church's insensitive and aggressive dealings with some victims.

Mr Scull said an apology "doesn't make any difference at all unless they do something else. Transparency is one thing, but I don't think it's possible for them. Canon law comes first and the victim comes last."

For Lismore disability pensioner Anthony Jones, an apology would be meaningless.

Mr Jones became the face of disgruntled victims this week when it was revealed that Cardinal Pell had falsely told him a church investigator dismissed his sexual assault claim against Father Terence Goodall, and that there had been no other victims.

Cardinal Pell called it an "innocent error" and formed a panel to review the case.

Yesterday, Mr Jones said that lawyers for the church and for Father Goodall continued to threaten him with contempt of court for releasing documents relevant to his case.

"My heart goes out to all victims of sexual abuse who have never been vindicated," he said.

Mr Jones has been to criminal and civil courts and the church's Towards Healing program.

"I would say to any victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest to go directly to the police because Towards Healing is towards [a] cover-up."

Victims group co-ordinator Helen Last, from In Good Faith, said the church's internal processes for dealing with complaints were designed to "perpetuate and propagate" the church.

Sister Angela Ryan, the director of Towards Healing, said the group encouraged victims to report criminal matters to police and no longer required confidentiality agreements.