Clergy Sex Abuse Victim to Take Stand at Royal Commission’s Melbourne Hearings
By Alex White
A MAN will next week tell the Royal Commission into child sex abuse how a Catholic priest groomed and abused two generations of young men in his family over three decades. Paul Hersbach, 37, will speak out against the late Father Victor Gabriel Rubeo at the inquiry’s first Melbourne hearings, starting on Monday. Mr Hersbach suffered a decade of abuse from before the age of 10. Years later his father Tony revealed he had also been abused by the same priest. The priest lived in the family home, accompanied them on holidays and even officiated at Mr Hersbach’s parents’ wedding and the baptism of four children — all the while perpetrating years of abuse. Mr Hersbach says he triumphed over his attacker by breaking the cycle of abuse. “The cycle could have continued and it didn’t,” he said. “I have succeeded in some way and recovered in some way. It has taken me over 15 years of hard work to get to that point,” he said. “The church dealt with me through the Melbourne Response, which up until now has not been publicly scrutinised. The Royal Commission is a fantastic way for that to occur.’’ Mr Hersbach will make his statement in public on Monday, supported by his father in the public gallery. The Commission has heard shocking stories from victims across Australia. Cardinal George Pell will give evidence via video link on August 21. The public hearings will be streamed live on the Commission’s website. Contact: alex.white@news.com.au
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