Inquiry Report to Slam Church

By John Ferguson
The Australian
November 13, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/inquiry-report-to-slam-church/story-fngburq5-1226758586669

THE Catholic Church will be heavily criticised today by the Victorian child sex abuse inquiry, which is set to back an overhaul of reporting arrangements.

The report is expected to find the church had protected its own reputation in past decades rather than dealing with the systemic issues and injury caused to the victims.

The report will add weight to calls for a fully independent complaints system to be set up to deal with abuse cases in non-government institutions.

But victims, while broadly supportive of the inquiry, will have to wait many months to determine what action the Napthine government will take because the national royal commission into the matter is still under way.

The Victorian parliament will today be handed the final report of the inquiry into the way non-government institutions handled child sex abuse cases and whether the law needs to be changed in order to prevent or minimise further abuses.

The Australian understands the committee has decided the weight of evidence against the Catholic Church and its handling of the crisis meant it was "impossible" for it to escape criticism.

"You really only have to look at the evidence that was given by the church to see there is a case to answer," a senior MP has told The Australian.

The committee is expected to recommend an overhaul of the way organisations report to police, and criticism will not be limited to the Catholic Church. The Salvation Army, for example, has also been criticised about the way it handled the crisis.

While it was unclear last night whether the report would back a government-run compensation scheme, insiders believe the royal commission and the Victorian inquiry will show church-run schemes need to be reformed.

The church in Victoria believes that the so-called Melbourne Response, set up by now Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, still functions well and is a valuable service for victims who do not want to go to court to deal with past abuses.

Clare Leaney, of victim advocates In Good Faith and Associates, said yesterday that victims had consistently argued that the church response had not worked.

She agreed there needed to be an independent system removed from institutions. "We are basically hopeful there is a way forward for victims' families and their communities," she said.

The Australian understands that the tabling of today's report will only be the first step in the process of whether or not the Napthine government backs any reform.

The government is expected to wait until the royal commission into abuse reports before adopting a final position. However, this is complicated by the fact the interim commission report is not due until the middle of next year, meaning it could be some months before the final report is tabled.

With an election due on November 29 next year, the government will be under time pressure to respond officially to the committee's recommendations.

However, the government will be under no pressure to back all, or even any, of the recommendations.

The church and police were at loggerheads during the inquiry, with police evidence to the parliamentary investigation called into question.