Catholic...

By Shannon Deery
Herald Sun
August 19, 2014

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/catholic-priests-encouraged-victims-of-abuse-to-go-the-police-the-church-tells-the-royal-commission-into-institutional-responses-to-child-sexual-abuse/story-fni0fee2-1227029622779

The Catholic Church said its priests encouraged abuse victims to go to the police, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.

Catholic priests encouraged victims of abuse to go the police, the church tells the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

VICTIMS of sexual abuse by Catholic priests were repeatedly encouraged to make formal complaints to police, but rarely did, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

Melbourne Response independent commissioner Peter O’Callaghan QC told the commission today many victims didn’t want to name offenders to police.

Mr O’Callaghan told the hearing he didn’t pass matters to police because victims didn’t ask him to and he didn’t want to breach their confidentiality.

Just 119 of the 326 upheld complaints have been dealt with by police since the Melbourne Response, the church’s internal compensation panel, was started in 1996.

Mr O’Callaghan is being grilled as part of the commission’s examination of the Melbourne Response scheme.

It has been widely slammed by victims and was last year heavily criticised during Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into abuse by religious and other organisations.

Victims told the royal commission they felt betrayed by the church’s Melbourne Response process, which they said lacked compassion, and called for the $75,000 cap on compensation payments to be scrapped.

A victim of paedophile priest Father Michael Glennon said Melbourne Response independent commissioner Peter O’Callaghan told him the prospects of Glennon doing any more jail time were low and he might not be charged.

“I felt Mr O’Callaghan was trying to discourage me from going to the police,” the man told the commission on Monday.

The man said he felt like he couldn’t win a court case against the church so he took a $50,000 payout, with no explanation for why the compensation was $25,000 less than the maximum.

“I did not think I had any other options for seeking compensation,” he said.

The commission heard today the church vowed, in a draft terms of reference, to actively encourage victims to report complaints to police.

“Immediately upon a complaint of sexual abuse being made to him the commissioner shall inform the complainant that he or she has an unfettered and continuing right to report the matter to police”.

Mr O’Callaghan said he believed every one of his recommendations were acted upon by church hierarchy.

But he said if he found no prima facie evidence after investigating allegations no further action would be taken.

The hearing continues.