Catholic Church Responds to Royal Commission's Findings into St Ann's Special School Abuse

ABC News
June 5, 2015

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-05/catholic-church-welcomes-rc-findings-on-paedophile-brian-perkins/6524678

Brian Perkins

PHOTO: Bus driver Brian Perkins volunteered at St Ann's Special School without a police check.

South Australian Catholic schools will review their procedures after a damning report was handed down into the church's employment of paedophile Brian Perkins.

About 30 intellectually disabled students were sexually abused by Perkins in the late 1980s and early '90s at St Ann's Special School at Marion, which is now closed but was run by the Catholic Education Office.

Perkins worked as a bus driver at the school between 1986 and 1991, and also undertook volunteer work, but it was not until 2003 that he was convicted of abusing three children.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Thursday released its findings into the case, and identified a number of failings by the school, the police and Catholic Church.

It found the school did not comply with its own policies on volunteer supervision, and the school principal failed to report the initial allegations of abuse.

Earlier today, Adelaide's Catholic Archdiocese stated it would "circulate" the report to "every Catholic school principal in the state".

But Catholic Education SA director Helen O'Brien later confirmed that meant sending them a link to the document.

"We'd anticipate that our principals will begin to look at that as soon as they've received it. We'll ask for a response from them and we'll be having a look at that information," she said.

Adelaide's Vicar General Father Philip Marshall and Catholic Education SA director Helen O'Brien

PHOTO: Vicar General Father Philip Marshall and Catholic Education SA director Helen O'Brien responded to the findings into the case of paedophile Brian Perkins. (ABC News: Loukas Founten)

Speaking alongside Ms O'Brien, Adelaide Vicar General Father Philip Marshall said he wanted to assure affected families that lessons had been learnt.

"This report, however uncomfortable it might be in some parts, is a very welcome thing because anything that can assist us to ensure that those sort of experiences do not happen to students in our schools again is welcome," he said.

"One of the lessons we have learnt, and we need to continually improve on, is immediate, open, transparent, communication with families."

Father Marshall again apologised to the victims and their families, noting that Archbishop Philip Wilson had formally apologised to them in 2002.

He said the offering of "gifts" to some of the victims' families by the church, a practice the royal commission found to be inadequate, was "simply an immediate response to families who had suffered".

In its written statement, the church said it acknowledged "systemic failures at the school" had enabled Perkins to commit the crimes.

Ms O'Brien said principals would be advised to "have another look" at school protocols.

"We welcome the report today as another opportunity for us to look at that very seriously and to ensure that we have the best policies, practices, procedures around the care of children," she said.