Royal Commission Will Hold a Final Public Hearing into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

By Joanne Mccarthy
Newcastle Herald
May 5, 2016

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3890335/final-call/

THE Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will hold a final public hearing into the Catholic Church in February 2017.

The commission has called for submissions until July about any factors which may have contributed to why thousands of children were sexually abused within the church, including the role of canon law and mandatory celibacy, and the processes by which priests and other religious were selected.

It is also considering factors contributing to how the church responded to allegations of abuse.

Royal Commission chief executive officer Philip Reed said previous case studies and hearings had considered Catholic institutions including the Archdioceses of Melbourne and Adelaide, the Dioceses of Ballarat, Wollongong and Rockhampton, Catholic Education offices, the Marist Brothers, the Christian Brothers, and the Sisters of Mercy. Case studies had also considered the Towards Healing process and the Melbourne Response.

“The Royal Commission is inviting submissions on a number of factors identified through our work including canon law, mandatory celibacy and the selection, screening, training and ongoing support and supervision of working priests and religious,” Mr Reed said.

“We wish to examine to what extent these and other factors have contributed to the occurrence of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions, or whether these issues have affected the institutional response to child sexual abuse,” Mr Reed said.

The Royal Commission is also seeking comment and submissions on the current and future proposed approaches of Catholic Church authorities to responding to survivors of child sexual abuse, individuals subject to allegations of child sexual abuse and the prevention of child sexual abuse.

[ssues Paper 11: Catholic Church Final Hearing, is available at the Royal Commission website at http:]

Submissions are invited until July 1 either in writing to GPO Box 5283, Sydney, NSW, 2001 or via email to catholic@childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au. Submissions can be anonymous.