Catholic Church to Revisit Compensation Caps for Abuse Victims
By Hamish Fitzsimmons
The Catholic Church says it will revisit compensation arrangements under the Melbourne Response with a view to either increasing or removing the current cap of $75,000. The move comes after Cardinal George Pell last week told the parents of two victims of a paedophile priest that he would make moves to remove the cap and revisit 300 existing claims against the church. Anthony and Chrissie Foster have spent the last 18 years campaigning for justice for the two eldest daughters, who were abused by paedophile father Kevin O'Donnell. Anthony Foster said the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart told the ABC's Lateline program he has agreed to some of their demands. "Archbishop Hart committed to looking at the matter of either increasing or abolishing the cap on compensation in Melbourne and also to look at revisiting all the existing claims," he said. Last week Denis Hart's predecessor Cardinal George Pell told the Fosters and the Royal Commission into child abuse, the cap on compensation payments to victims should be removed. In a statement Archbishop Hart says he will revisit the Melbourne Response compensation arrangements with a view to either increasing or removing the current cap. "We acknowledge that this is a new era," he said. "In light of the report of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry and the work of the Royal Commission, we are looking again at victims' needs and their views on how best to improve the compensation process." Chrissie Fosters felt the meeting was positive. "I thought it was halfway between what we wanted and probably what they wanted so there is some hope of it going forward," she said. The Fosters are one of only four people to sue the church outside of its compensation arrangement for abuse victims in the Melbourne Archdiocese. It has seen more than three hundred cases so far. The Fosters settled their claim on behalf of their daughters and today they agreed to be part of a process with the church to make sure victims needs are fully met through appropriate compensation "We've lived through it, people who are suffering from this have lived through it and it's important to hear what their needs are. Who else knows that except them?" said Chrissie Foster. Denis Hart said victims needs will be paramount. "We will be reaching out to victims to seek their input into how compensation should be awarded in the future and how past cases should be reviewed," he said. The Fosters are expecting to meet with church officials within two weeks to begin the process of changing the compensation scheme. Anthony Foster told Lateline the church has committed to having the review of the Melbourne Response underway by the end of April. "The only way it can change justly for victims is if they are involved in the process of setting it up and there are a great number of us out here as victims and parents of victims who know what's required," he said. "There are lots of other experts in the field who know what's required for victims so they all need to be involved in the process."
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