Thousands sign Catholic abuse petition

By Annette Blackwell
West Australian
February 17, 2014

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/21525384/thousands-sign-catholic-abuse-petition/

An online petition calling on the Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide to settle a 12-year legal battle with parents of profoundly disabled children who were abused at a church school has attracted more than 60,000 signatures in five days.

The petition was started by Peter Mitchell, the father of one of the boys who attended St Ann's Special School in Adelaide from 1986 to 1991.

It was 10 years later that Mr Mitchell and other parents discovered what had happened to their children.

The former bus driver at the school, Brian Perkins, was arrested in 2001 and later jailed for 10 years.

He pleaded guilty to five offences involving three students, although as many as 30 children were understood to have been abused by him.

Perkins died in jail in 2009.

Documents later revealed the church was aware Perkins was a sex offender and fired him in 1991, but never mentioned the sex abuse to police or parents.

Mr Mitchell and other parents went to the Catholic Church for answers.

On Monday, Mr Mitchell told AAP that following a church investigation in 2001 parents were given a "gift" and an apology.

He described it as "a pittance" in light of impact of the abuse and the ongoing care and counselling needed by victims and their families.

Mr Mitchell accuses the church of using legal delaying tactics to drag the process out for 12 years.

Many of the parents were now in the 60s or 70s and finding it increasingly difficult to care for their children, he said. His own son is 37.

"I think the church is hoping we're going to die or just give up out of frustration. But I owe it to my son to keep fighting this", he said .

He said a phone call from Archbishop Philip Wilson to the lawyers could end it.

The petition is hosted by Change.Org and is addressed to Archbishop Wilson and the church's Truth Healing and Justice Council.

The council was set up by the Catholic Church to handle its response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The commission will hold a public hearing in Adelaide in March to examine what happened at St Ann's Special School.

You can see the petition at: www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/our-children-were-sexually-abused-in-catholic-church-care-now-their-lawyers-are-crushing-our-families