Catholic Church Has Caused Pain to Child Sex Abuse Victims
By Francis Sullivan
THE Daily Telegraph recently reported the case of a Catholic brother jailed for at least three and half years for abusing children at a western Sydney school. It was the sort of report that is often seen in the pages of most of our newspapers and across other media and which reflects an appalling history of sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church. The victims of this type of abuse go through extreme damage and suffering and the impact it can have on their lives is profound. It is this damage and suffering that is at the centre of the Catholic Church's Towards Healing victims' reparation protocol. For the better part of 20 years the Catholic Church in Australia has used Toward Healing to offer victims of sex abuse by catholic priests, brothers, teachers and others church workers a way to tell their story and to receive pastoral care and reparation. It is a process that has worked well for some and hasn't worked at all for others. Through Towards Healing church leaders hear what the impact of sexual abuse has been on victims. These typically include failed relationships, careers and financial setbacks; constant and debilitating feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, guilt and shame. And much more. In essence Towards Healing offers a victim the chance to tell their story, personally and directly, to someone in authority in the Church - often a Bishop - who will accept responsibility for what happened, acknowledge the damage done, give a sincere apology and put in place pastoral care and reparation. This 'pastoral care and reparation' can take many different forms - assistance finding and paying for counselling, school or university fees, help finding employment, covering the costs of rent, equipment such as computers, a vehicle, medical or dental expenses. More often than not the reparation can also include a payment that will differ from victim to victim. The Toward Healing process will soon be at the very centre of the hearings at the Royal Commission into institutional responses to sexual abuse when in December two weeks have been set aside to interrogate the process. The Truth Justice and Healing Council, which is representing more than 200 church organisations at the Commission, has this week lodged its submission on Towards Healing with the Commission. It is the most comprehensive document ever produced by the Church outlining the history of how the church has dealt with sexual abuse and what it is doing now. Importantly the document outlines a set of reform options which will be considered by Church leaders over coming months. These proposals recognise the Church must do better when dealing with victims of sexual abuse and as it works to make sure Catholic institutions as safe as possibly for children. The most two most significant reform proposals involve major changes to Towards Healing and the introduction of a new National Board to oversee and report, publically, on all aspects of child protection in the Church bodies. The changes to Towards Healing would see new independent compensation commissioners appointed to determine payments to victims- this would separate the pastoral responses in Towards Healing from the determination of compensation payment. Other proposals include appointing lay and independent experts to strengthen the Church's National Committee of Professional Standards which oversees the Towards Healing process. The other significant change is the creation of an independent national board to develop and administer national child protection standards. The board would monitor adherence to these standards and publicly report on compliance. The board would also provide more rigorous assessment, monitoring, auditing and enforcement of Towards Healing practices and see the introduction of greater public reporting on how the Church more broadly and Towards Healing measures up against the new standards. These, and other reform proposals, are currently being fully developed by the Truth Justice and Healing Council and will be put to the Church leadership early in the New Year. They are also being developed mindful of recommendations that might be made by the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry and the Cuneen Special Commission of Inquiry, as well as this Royal Commission. What is certain is the Catholic Church in Australia is moving. It recognises and acknowledges the devastating harm caused child sexual abuse and that its leaders are committed to helping repair the wrongs of the past, to listen to and hear victims, to put their needs first, and to do everything possible to ensure a safer future for children. Francis Sullivan is CEO of the Catholic Church's Truth Justice Healing Council, which will today make its submission to the royal commission into child sex abuse.
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