Catholic church could triple compensation for abuse victims, royal commission told

By Jane Lee
Age
August 25, 2014

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/catholic-church-could-triple-compensation-for-abuse-victims-royal-commission-told-20140825-1084ny.html

The Catholic Church's Melbourne archdiocese could afford to double or triple its $75,000 cap on compensation for sexual abuse victims but would need to review the other programs it funds.

The royal commission into child sexual abuse entered its second week of hearings in Melbourne on Monday. The commission is investigating the effectiveness of the church's Melbourne Response, which has paid more than $17 million to 326 abuse victims since 1996.

Asked whether the archdiocese of Melbourne could afford a doubling or tripling of its current cap on compensation payments, Francis Moore, its executive director of administration, said: "I think it would certainly require some adjustments to the way the Archdiocese operated, and whether the archdiocese could continue all of the programs that it currently provides - could it be managed? Yes, I suspect it could. But not without impacts elsewhere."

Counsel assisting the commission, Angus Stewart, asked whether increasing the cap would require the archdiocese to sell off assets.

Mr Moore replied that, depending on how much the cap was increased, "it might be more than the accumulated income can cover, in which case there would be a need to go to the reserves of the archdiocese".

Chairman of the commission, Justice Peter McClellan, noted that "at the moment the archdiocese is running, if you like, at a surplus, isn't it?".

Mr Moore conceded the surplus was "in the millions".

While the Melbourne Response's compensation was determined for victims independently of the archdiocese, Mr Moore said the church would need to reconsider its level of involvement if the cap were to be increased or removed.

"I'm not saying it would (require more involvement from the church). I'm saying that it's a factor that would need to be considered."

Mr Moore noted all other redress schemes he knew of afforded the payer to have a say on such matters.