Church Officials Testify at Abuse Inquiry

ABC News
April 29, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-29/church-officials-testify-at-abuse-inquiry/4656630

[with video]

A Catholic order has used an appearance before Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse to apologise to victims of paedophile brothers.

The St John of God Brothers are the first of the Catholic orders to give evidence at the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Abuse.

Today's hearing was told there have been 31 complaints relating to 15 brothers who worked in institutions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The head of the order in Australia and New Zealand, Brother Tim Graham, says most of the offending happened in the 1960s and 70s.

"The Brothers of St John of God humbly ask for forgiveness of our victims," he said.

"We ask forgiveness of their families and friends, and we humbly ask the forgiveness of the members of the church and the people of Victoria/"

Brother Graham says the order is devastated by the harm that some of their members wreaked in the lives of vulnerable people.

He says he has been horrified by the allegations and acknowledges there has been a systemic failure of scrutiny and accountability.

"There are 31 cases [and] one case is bad enough. One case is one case too many," Brother Graham said.

"That's the facts we're dealing with."

St John of God told the inquiry that the first complaint was made against it in 1993, but pointed out that no charges had been laid.

It said those engaging in acts of abuse betray the reason for the church's existence.



'Important day'

The inquiry began last year and is investigating the handling of abuse by religious and other organisations.

Before the inquiry began, Judy Courtin, a lawyer who is researching sexual abuse, said she doubted victims would get much solace from the Catholic Church's testimony.

"I think we will get a lot of spin in a very similar way to the evidence that's going to be given to the inquiry by the Melbourne Archdiocese," she said.

"I think victims and survivors have very little faith that they're going to tell the truth."

Nevertheless, she says it is an important day for victims and their families.

Two of Christine and Anthony Foster's daughters were assaulted by a Catholic priest while in primary school.

One of their daughters has subsequently committed suicide.

They have attended all but three days of the inquiry so far and say it represents a turn-around where the church is now at the hands of civil authorities.

"It has been horrific watching other victims and what's happened to them," they told ABC News Breakfast this morning.

"We spent many, many years watching what happened to Emma and during the inquiry we've seen other cases and it's just been horrific seeing the damage that's been caused and the carnage that's been caused by paedophile priests out there and the loss to the community.

"[It's] just incredible to see people who are 50, 60, 70 years old who were denied education, who can't read or write because they were assaulted as children. Just incredible.

"Now of course we're about to see the Catholic Church organisations come along to the inquiry this week and what we're expecting to see [from them], because of the sort of denials we've read in the papers this morning and what we've seen over decades, is...an almost stage-managed defence of the indefensible and I think that's what's going to come out today."