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	Top Priests Praises Move to Defrock Sex Priests By Carl Dickens Geelong Advertiser May 9, 2011 http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/05/09/257151_news.html GEELONG'S top Catholic priest has welcomed the Melbourne church's move to defrock all convicted paedophile priests, saying it may help provide closure to victims of abuse. Fr Kevin Dillon, who has spoken to many local victims of priest abuse, said the action showed the archdiocese wanted to do right by those who've been wronged by trusted figures within the church. "This may be a good sign that the church is recognising this is something that may in itself help victims ... because (victims) would be very put out to learn someone's been convicted, done jail time and is back in normal ministry after offending children," he said. "I think it would (help to give closure) certainly for some, because interestingly enough with a number of victims I speak to, they feel distressed if they feel the church officially hasn't heard them clearly enough. "When the permission to practise is withdrawn and the licence is revoked, so to speak, it is another step." Winchelsea's Edmund John Haines was jailed for four years and three months in 2008 on six counts of indecent assault and possessing child pornography. The church has come under fire for not acting to remove paedophile priests, but Melbourne's Vicar-General Bishop Les Tomlinson said it was only recently that changes to canon law allowed defrocking without their consent and without a trial. He said the move could help victims find closure, but noted any priest found to have offended against a child already had their powers to act as priest removed. Applications to defrock priests take six months to a year to be completed at the Vatican, and are similar to a prosecution brief in a criminal trial, Bishop Tomlinson said. Fr Dillon said he would continue his discussions with sexual abuse victims, and would now ask them how they felt about the Melbourne archdiocese's efforts to remove convicted sexual offenders from its ranks. "The main is to give the victims a good say in all this, and say 'you're the ones who've been offended, so how are you feeling about this?'," he said.
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