Long Line of Excuses Will No Longer Wash

By Ian Kirkwood
Newcastle Herald
November 12, 2012

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/983497/long-line-of-excuses-will-no-longer-wash/?cs=305

“BUT whoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” – Matthew 18:6

This is the New Testament verse that Salt Ash man Rob Lipari turned to as he contemplated the news that Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a royal commission on child sexual abuse in the church.

Mr Lipari, who was abused as a boy in the late 1970s, welcomed the federal inquiry but warned that its terms of reference must take historical matters into account.

This sentiment was shared by others who spoke with the Newcastle Herald last night.

The Herald sought comment from the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle but a spokeswoman said the only statement yesterday would be coming from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The spokeswoman said the head of the diocese, Bishop Bill Wright, would meet today with Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy and the newspaper’s editor, Chad Watson.

Rayworth man Bob O’Toole, who was abused at Marist Brothers Hamilton as a boy, described the announcement as ‘‘absolutely fantastic’’.

‘‘I’m delighted that she [Prime Minister Julia Gillard] has had the courage to call it on,’’ Mr O’Toole said.

‘‘The important thing is to ensure that the terms of reference are broad enough to allow it to go back and to not fall for the idea of a line in the sand.’’

Anthony Stevens, a brother-in-law of the late John Pirona, said the royal commission ‘‘was a great [step] forward for the people who suffered at the hands of these creeps’’.

Mr Pirona took his own life in July after saying he could no longer deal with the memories of his abuse as a child.

Mr Stevens said the terms of reference needed to be free ranging but he said the government should resist calls to extend it too far beyond the Catholic church.

‘‘The weight of evidence says you look at that organisation particularly, and if the [commission] findings give reason to search further, then do so, but focus on the bad guy first,’’ Mr Stevens said.

‘‘Otherwise it gets too convoluted and muddied.’’

He said he had eventually secured a conversation with Cardinal George Pell after his brother-in-law’s death but it seemed to him that Australia’s most senior Catholic was incapable of understanding the depth of the problem.

Mr Lipari hoped the royal commission would expose the excuses the church had used to deflect blame from itself.

‘‘They say things like ‘We are all victims here’ or ‘it’s not just us’ or ‘it’s just a few bad apples’ or ‘it’s all historical’ but they are nothing but excuses,’’ Mr Lipari said.

Mr Lipari, who has built a file of research on paedophilia in the church, says official Catholic figures reveal the scale of the problem.

He said the Encompass Centre, set up after the Wood Royal Commission in 1997, ran until 2008 when the church shut it down.

Articles cited in the Catholic News said the centre treated 1100 people – many of them Catholic clergy – including 250 who took part in six-month intensive programs.

‘‘Given that the Catholic Church had about 4000 priests at the time, those numbers are disturbingly high,’’ he said.

Mr Lipari, Mr Stevens, Mr O’Toole and others who rang the Herald last night praised the efforts of Ms McCarthy.

Community thanked for ongoing support

By JOANNE McCARTHY

TRACEY Pirona was speechless last night until she knew what she wanted to say about a royal commission on child sexual abuse.

She wanted to thank the Hunter region for its sustained support for victims of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church and their families.

Her husband John is gone. His suicide in July after ‘‘too much pain’’ from being sexually assaulted by a notorious Hunter paedophile priest has left her to raise their two daughters on her own.

A royal commission, announced by the prime minister, would provide immediate hope for other child sex abuse victims, Mrs Pirona said.

‘‘If it can give some type of justice to people it may give them some peace – to not give up,’’ she said.

She is pleased the commission is not just concentrating on the Catholic Church.

See your ad here

‘‘It’s clear that child sexual abuse is not just confined to the Catholic Church, but that’s the point that’s close to us,’’ she said.

The Hunter could take pride in leading the fight for a commission, she said.

‘‘It has been a real community push. Really, for me personally, I can’t thank the community enough for their support.’’

However, a royal commission would not bring back her husband or the lives of other people, Mrs Pirona said.