By Barney Zwartz
The Age
July 18, 2008
http://www.theage.com.au/national/sex-abuse-victims-denied-proper-compensation-20080717-3gxo.html
MELBOURNE'S "unjust" system for dealing with sexual abuse had probably saved the Catholic Archdiocese more than $40 million that should have gone to victims, the father of two schoolgirls who were repeatedly raped by a priest suggested yesterday.
Anthony Foster said that only in Melbourne, under the system set up by now Sydney Archbishop George Pell, was compensation capped (at $50,000). There was no cap in the Towards Healing protocol that applied in the rest of the Catholic Church in Australia or in the civil courts.
"When we went to court — as invited to by Cardinal Pell — they settled for a much larger sum. It's all about saving money," Mr Foster said.
He suggested there had been at least 200 compensation cases in Melbourne at an average of $25,000. That should have been $400,000, which was $80 million, he said. Mr Foster and his wife, Christine, flew into Sydney yesterday to try to confront Cardinal Pell before World Youth Day on Sunday.
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| Anthony and Chrissie Foster, left, and their daughters Emma and Katie. |
Their daughters were raped over five years at Sacred Heart Primary School in Oakleigh by a now dead priest, Kevin O'Donnell. One, Emma, killed herself in January. On Wednesday, World Youth Day co-ordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher sparked controversy by suggesting some people were "dwelling crankily on old wounds" rather than delighting in the beauty and goodness of the young people at World Youth Day.
Bishop Fisher did not meet the media yesterday, but World Youth Day chief operating officer Danny Casey held a press conference away from the media centre and suggested Bishop Fisher's comments were "about how some of the media seeks to portray the church about abuse matters and shouldn't in any way suggest he is lacking in compassion".
Mr Foster rejected that explanation. "I watched the video. It seemed directed at us, certainly not just at the media. They were absolutely outrageous, hurtful comments, and he should be ashamed of them. He shouldn't be in the position he is," he said.
Victims advocate Susan Leith Miller called the official explanation of Bishop Fisher's comments "a complete farce".
Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has hinted at a retreat from an expected papal apology to abuse victims while the Pope is in Australia.
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