Child Sex Abuse Inquiry Told of Jesuit Cover-up

ABC
November 26, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3641255.htm

SALLY SARA: Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious organisations has been told the Jesuit order of priests is not immune from allegations of child sexual abuse and that it too has been involved in a cover up.

The inquiry today took evidence from members of the group SNAP Australia, or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The international group is currently involved in a case in the International Criminal Court which alleges the Pope and three senior Vatican officials are guilty of crimes against humanity through the direct cover up of abuse.

Alison Caldwell reports.

ALISON CALDWELL: Chicago-based Barbara Blaine is the founder and president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. She's worked with victims of child sexual abuse for over two decades.

Speaking at Victoria's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious organisations, she spoke about SNAP's complaint to the International Criminal Court, which alleges the Pope and three other senior Vatican officials have been engaged in a cover up.

BARBARA BLAINE: The Pope is held in such high regard, and yet here I am alleging that he's involved in committing crimes against humanity.

Just three ways that they do this are by priest shifting, by transferring predator priests from one place to another, by their refusal to cooperate with the civil authorities, and this is, I'm assuming, experienced here in Australia.

ALISON CALDWELL: She says lawyers for the Catholic Church have consistently tried to block the case.

BARBARA BLAINE: Since the original filing in 2011, we experienced retaliation from church officials in efforts to silence and to basically try to destroy SNAP, and they have done it in many, many ways, but one of the most significant was their efforts to subpoena the private, confidential records of the victims who have contacted SNAP over these past decades.

The courts initially were very supportive of the church officials in their efforts. At this time, all of that has been put on hold but we don't know whether it will come back again.

ALISON CALDWELL: Barbara Blaine says the way the Catholic Church has handled allegations of child sexual abuse is mirrored around the world.

BARBARA BLAINE: I'm convinced that the bishops, the church officials here in the state of Victoria, followed the same directives and guidelines and policies from the Vatican that have caused the devastation of the abuse of children across the globe, and certainly right here in the state of Victoria.

ALISON CALDWELL: Nicky Davis is with SNAP Australia, based in Sydney. She says the legal system is biased against victims of child sexual abuse and that few cases ever reach court. In her case, she was the only person able to provide a statement to police, despite there being many victims.

NICKY DAVIS: In my own case, of 49 known victims I was the only one able to report to police. Other victims spoke to police, but none were able to make a statement or appear in court.

I had multiple eyewitnesses to my abuse willing to testify in court, an unusual level of corroboration for these crimes. Yet it was not enough to get a paedophile off the streets and unable to reoffend.

ALISON CALDWELL: The inquiry also heard from SNAP's Mark Fabbro. When he was 11 he was raped in broad daylight by a Jesuit priest, Father John Byrne, on the school grounds of the prestigious Xavier College in 1971.

MARK FABBRO: It was well known that the Jesuit order has done a great job in inspiring some of the greatest minds in this country.

But what the public ought to be made aware of is the sexual assaults and brutal treatment that was dished out at Jesuit boarding schools in the 1970s. The Jesuit order is not immune from harbouring abusive priests.

ALISON CALDWELL: Twenty-five years later, Mark Fabbro complained to the Catholic Archdiocese in Melbourne, where he met with Peter O'Callaghan QC, the head of the Melbourne Response, one of the church's complaint bodies.

MARK FABBRO: In 1996, I was dissuaded by an agent of the church, Peter O'Callaghan QC, from reporting these crimes to the police. I was also dissuaded by Peter O'Callaghan QC from attempting to seek justice from the Jesuits. He said it was pointless as priests had made a vow of poverty.

ALISON CALDWELL: The inquiry was urged to question Catholic Church employees under oath about the whereabouts of documents that might show sexual abuse being covered up.

SALLY SARA: Alison Caldwell with that report.