Calls for Royal Commission into Church Abuse

ABC - the World Today
August 1, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3558107.htm

[with audio]

ASHLEY HALL: A legal academic who was responsible for reviewing the Catholic Church's program for dealing with sexual abuse says there should be a royal commission into cover ups within the organisation.

A police strike force in Newcastle is preparing to turn over a brief of evidence to prosecutors about an alleged cover-up of sexual abuse by the Church there.

Documents show the Church was aware of allegations against the paedophile priest Denis McAlinden as far back as the 1990s, but didn't report them to police until 2003.

Timothy McDonald reports.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: The Catholic Church's protocol for dealing with sexual abuse, called Towards Healing, was introduced in 1996.

It's been reviewed twice since then, by Patrick Parkinson, who is currently a law professor at Sydney University. He says there has been progress, but some things have been slow to change.

PATRICK PARKINSON: I think that the culture's changing, I mean certainly one of the practices that occurs in New South Wales, where I'm based and I strongly encouraged, was that whenever a case comes as Towards Healing, where there's a new person who is named, even if the victim will not go to the police, the Church itself will let the police know of the identity of the alleged offender.

So at least there's some record of the allegations being made, and it may well be that if the police have other intelligence about the cases that they'll find a way to encourage somebody to come forward.

That's the practice that's been adopted but the reality is, and why we're seeing so many of these cases still, is that first of all the Catholic Church has had a really bad problem with the sexual abuse of children, and in particular boys, and secondly there's been a culture of dealing with it internally, and these stories will keep coming up.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Is there a need for some kind of other process or inquiry? Should we perhaps look towards something like a royal commission for example?

PATRICK PARKINSON: I believe we should. I think the model is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. There's an enormous healing power in truth. Healing for individuals, healing for communities.

This is a sore which will not go away, and I think it's in the best interest of the Church that it has openness at last and brings these things out in the open and shows both the awfulness of what's happened and the good will to try to make sure it doesn't happen again. I think there is a truth telling which needs to occur and a royal commission is one way of doing it.

The difficulty is knowing who should set it up because it's not just a New South Wales problem, or a Victorian problem, or a South Australian problems, it's every state and territory.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: One criticism of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was that some perpetrators of violence were able to apply for amnesty in exchange for testifying, and escaped prosecution.

Patrick Parkinson makes it clear that's not what he's proposing.

PATRICK PARKINSON: I certainly wouldn't have any blanket immunity at all. There are men who are living in our community now who have committed some of the worst criminal offences of any criminals in the country and we're talking about men who have scores of victims.

And should they go away unpunished? I think not.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: He's not the only one calling for a royal commission.

One victim support group says the Catholic Church has a long history of covering up sexual abuse, and something needs to be done.

Dr Bernard Barrett is an honorary research associate for Broken Rites.

BERNARD BARRETT: The Catholic Church has a long record of covering up sexual abuse by its clergy and its brothers. It's not confined to one part of Australia, or even to this country, it's a worldwide problem with the Catholic Church and has been for a long, long, long time.

But it's being exposed at the moment.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: And do you think more action needs to be taken? Would you like to see, for example, a royal commission?

BERNARD BARRETT: There needs to be a royal commission into the covering up of sexual abuse in churches in Australia, and the Catholic Church would figure very prominently in that, but not just the Catholic Church, it needs to cover all religious organisations. But the Catholic Church would certainly be very conspicuous.

ASHLEY HALL: The honorary research associate for Broken Rites, Dr Bernard Barrett, ending Timothy McDonald's report.