Letter from Archbishop Wilson

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide
November 22, 2012

http://www.adelaide.catholic.org.au/__files/f/9521/Circular%20RE%20Royal%20Commission%2012-1275%20%282%29.pdf

My Brothers and Sisters in the Adelaide Archdiocese

As you are aware, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced that a Royal Commission is to be held to inquire into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in Australia. Also, on Wednesday the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced a more focused inquiry dealing with specific issues raised in the media concerning the Diocese of Newcastle - Maitland.

This Royal Commission is a very important development in Australian society as a whole because it will be the first time when the horrendous issue of abuse will be examined in great detail on a national scale. It will enable people affected by child sex abuse to have a voice like they have never had before. They will be able to tell of their tragedies and be heard at the highest level – and in doing so it will help institutions, including our Church, to learn more about those experiences and, if necessary, better inform us about how we respond to these very difficult and complex issues.

Our Diocese will, of course, co-operate fully with the Royal Commission and the NSW Inquiry, and we will do so with absolute honesty and openness in an effort to do whatever we can to help shed light on the tragedy of child sex abuse. As people of God, we can only feel deep shame over the terrible betrayal of trust and the suffering inflicted on the abused and their families by those members of the Church who engaged in this most serious crime.