BishopAccountability.org
	Church Sex Case 'Shows Double Standards' By Mike Hedge Sydney Morning Herald May 31, 2011 http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/church-sex-case-shows-double-standards-20110531-1feei.html The case of self-confessed paedophile Robert Charles Best further demonstrates the double standards of the Catholic Church in sexual misconduct cases, according to a leading victims' rights advocate. While the church spent more than $1 million defending Best, his victims will receive far less in compensation. Best, a Christian Brother who taught at schools throughout Victoria, pleaded guilty on Monday to six charges of abusing three children between 1975 and 1988. The plea came after six previous trials which resulted in Best, 70, being convicted of 21 sex offences against students, including one of aggravated buggery against a nine-year-old boy. It is estimated more than $1 million was spent on lawyers defending Best in his six trials, despite him being found guilty four times by juries. Millions more in taxpayer funds has been spent on a succession of prosecutions since Best first faced charges in 1995. "The Christian Brothers have spent mega-dollars on defending Brother Best during many court proceedings since 1995," Broken Rites spokesman and researcher Bernard Barrett told AAP. "The costs include a Queen's Counsel plus other barristers and solicitors, legal office staff, private investigators, and public relations consultants. "No expense was spared. "The church's defence also caused the state of Victoria to spend enormous amounts of taxpayers' money in trying to prosecute the case." Mr Barrett said the church's commitment to the defence of Best and other convicted clergy contrasted to its treatment of victims. "The church places a tight limit on what they'll pay a victim to repair his life," he said. The resolution of the latest case against Best, in which he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting students at St Leo's Christian Brothers College at Box Hill in Melbourne and at St Joseph's in Geelong, allowed his previous convictions to be reported. They involved 16 offences against seven boys at St Alipius Parish School in Ballarat, where he was the principal, between 1969 and 1974, and 11 more indecent assaults on boys at St Leo's between 1975 and 1984. He was first convicted of sex crimes against boys in 1996. Best also taught at St Joseph's College in Warrnambool after leaving Geelong. The guilty plea came before the seventh trial got under way on Monday and resulted in other charges that were to be heard at two other trials to be dropped. One of those involved an alleged victim who committed suicide while waiting for his case to come to trial. During the time Best taught at St Alipius, the local parish priest was convicted paedophile Gerald Ridsdale, who at the time shared accommodation with Father - now Cardinal - George Pell, the head of the Catholic Church in Australia. Christian Brothers executive officer for professional standards Brother Brian Brandon apologised "sincerely and unreservedly" to Best's victims. "The Christian Brothers view abuse in any form - and particularly the sexual abuse of the young and vulnerable - as repulsive," Brother Brandon said in a statement. Brother Brandon did not return calls. A spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne said it was inappropriate for the archdiocese to comment because the matter concerned the Christian Brothers.
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