Little faith in new archbishop: victims

By Karlis Salna
Herald Sun
September 19, 2014

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/little-faith-in-new-archbishop-victims/story-fni0xqi4-1227064241645

SURVIVORS of abuse at the hands of Catholic priests say they have little hope the church will change under the newly-appointed archbishop of Sydney.

BISHOP of Parramatta Anthony Fisher, 54, was appointed to his new role by Pope Francis on Thursday night.

Bishop Fisher has vowed to repair the relationship between the church and survivors of abuse, insisting there will be no more cover-ups and that victims will come first. But abuse survivors on Friday slammed the appointment, citing "callous" comments Bishop Fisher made at the World Youth Day in 2008 when he said the parents of an abuse victim who had committed suicide were "dwelling angrily on old wounds". "Many survivors believe the only place where we will be first under Bishop Fisher is in media statements, mentioned dismissively with an insincere apology, and then ignored," Nicky Davis, from the survivors network SNAP, said on Friday. "Survivors of child rape and sexual violence ... are deeply disappointed that the influential position of Archbishop of Sydney has been filled by an official unlikely to deviate from the disgraceful actions of his predecessors." Bishop Fisher insists he will bring a different approach than his orthodox predecessor Cardinal George Pell, often criticised for his combative style. "We're different personalities, I think, though he also tried very hard to move the church forward. I'm going to be doing that certainly. We're going to do it differently, we're going to be better at this, I'm determined to be better at this," he said on Friday. "Survivors of past abuse and our future young people, to them both I say no excuses, no cover-ups. I'm ashamed and I'm sorry for where we've failed you in the past." He said people wanted to know that the church cared about survivors of abuse and wanted justice for them. Bishop Fisher, who grew up in the now Muslim enclave of Lakemba in western Sydney, also used news of his appointment to call for calm in the wake of the arrests of several people accused of planning terror attacks. "We need to bring some calm, some restraint, some wisdom at this time," he said.