No Govt Response to Abuse Bid: Inquiry

9 News
November 27, 2012

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/26/19/01/no-govt-response-to-abuse-bid-inquiry

The federal government donated more than $1 million to the Catholic Church towards the canonisation of Mary MacKillop but refused to acknowledge a request to contribute any money to sexual abuse victims, an inquiry has heard.

Abuse survivor Mark Fabbro approached then foreign minister Kevin Rudd at the canonisation celebrations in Rome in 2010 after hearing of the $1.25 million contribution made by the Labor government.

Mr Fabbro told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations on Monday that he wrote a letter to Mr Rudd while in Rome, asking him how the government would help financially struggling abuse survivor groups.

"No response was ever received to that request," he told the inquiry.

At a press conference in Rome on October 18, 2010, he again approached Mr Rudd and asked, "in the spirit of Mary MacKillop", what was the government going to do to help provide justice for abuse victims.

"Rudd replied 'the church has dealt in many cases from the past and where there have been imperfections in the process they have sought to improve those processes'."

Outside the hearing, Mr Fabbro said it was a reflection on the government's reluctance to tackle the church.

"He was saying the church has got its processes, so it must be alright. Well it's not alright," he said.

Mr Fabbro, from the Australian arm of international Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), gave evidence on Monday alongside two colleagues from the group, including its American founder and president Barbara Blaine.

Ms Blaine said inquiries around the world have come up with stark similarities to the Australian experience, including claims of sexual violence, cover-ups, moving priests between parishes, bullying and intimidation, destruction of evidence, manipulation, secrecy and a priority to protect the reputation of the church ahead of protecting children.

She said while her own abuse as a 13-year-old in the United States was devastating, the most painful aspect was realising that church authorities were dishonest and did not care about the innocence of children.

"What was devastating to recognise was church officials were covering up these crimes and enabled and even empowered predators to have access to more children," she said.

Despite 6000 US priests being named as paedophiles - a figure she believes is much smaller than reality - Ms Blaine said Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City is the only senior church figure to have been convicted for covering up sex crimes.

He was only given a suspended sentence and is still a bishop.

Pope John Paul II even wrote a congratulatory letter to a bishop for covering up sex crimes, she said.

"Bishops here in Victoria follow the same directives and guidelines and policies from the Vatican that have caused the devastation of child abuse across the globe and certainly right here in the state of Victoria."

Nicky Davis, from the Sydney chapter of SNAP, told the inquiry it may take the conviction of an Australian bishop or cardinal for the cover-ups to end.

Ms Blaine said the abuse and cover-ups constitute a crime against humanity and SNAP has a submission before the International Criminal Court requesting an investigation into high-ranking Vatican officials, including the Pope.