Toowoomba Bishop Apologises after Abuse Teacher Pleads Guilt, Cath News, April 15, 2010

Toowoomba Bishop Apologises after Abuse Teacher Pleads Guilt

Cath News
April 15, 2010

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20679

Bishop William Morris of Toowoomba has issued a statement apologising for the abuse suffered by children while under the care of the Diocese.

A former teacher of a school within the Diocese of Toowoomba pleaded guilty yesterday to a number of charges he faced in relation to offences against children.

Former Christian brother Gerard Vincent Byrnes, 61, admitted to 44 sex abuse charges concerning students at a Toowoomba primary school, where he also served as the child protection officer. Among them were 10 counts of raping a child under 12.

Gerard Vincent Byrne as he appears in today\'s media coverage

"I can only begin to imagine the suffering and upset the victims and their families have experienced as a result of the former teacher's actions," said Bishop Morris. "The Diocese will continue to provide counselling and pastoral care for all affected, and I will be writing to the families of victims offering to meet with each of them."

Bishop Morris stressed in a statement released yesterday that the Diocese has a clear policy of zero tolerance of sexual abuse and an unequivocal commitment to the highest standards of child protection.

He said the Director of the Catholic Education Office, John Borserio, is continuing to make improvements to policies, procedures and training in cooperation with the regulatory authorities to ensure we prevent a situation such as this from occurring again.

"We have recently undertaken a further review which has resulted in the strengthening and clarifying of our child protection protocols. These revised protocols will be submitted shortly to the Non-State School Accreditation Board for approval," he said.

"Unfortunately, I cannot change what has happened," said Bishop Morris. "However, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to ensure events such as these never happen again. I reiterate the children and their families affected by the former teacher's actions remain my highest priority."

Meanwhile The Australian reports that police have warned the Catholic Church to expect more cases of child sex abuse to emerge from six schools that employed a veteran teacher who yesterday pleaded guilty to abusing 13 schoolgirls.