MORE than 5 per cent of Catholic priests in the Townsville Diocese between 1950 and 2010 have been accused of sexual abuse against children.
A report, released as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, reveals the alleged abuse suffered by children at the hands of church members across the region.
The report classed 5.7 per cent of priests who served in the Townsville Diocese during the 60-year period as alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse at some point in their career.
No specific number of alleged perpetrators was provided in the report, which analysed data compiled from a survey of 75 Catholic Church authorities.
Townsville’s Child Protection Investigation Unit has played a major part in the investigations, with the Royal Commission forwarding complaints to local detectives.
Townsville CPIU officer-in-charge detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles said the unit was investigating complaints.
“If someone has made a complaint we will look to see if there is sufficient evidence to progress the investigation, and these complaints date right back to the 1950s,” he said.
“The passage of time makes the investigation more complex, environments where offences occurred may have changed, the record keeping from those earlier times isn’t as concise as it is now, therefore we struggle to find records that can assist us. “We look for the links to persons and places and just follow the information to see what we can get.”
Townsville Catholic Diocesan Administrator Father Michael Lowcock said the abuse was tragic, with just one victim being one too many.
“The statistic of 5.7 per cent of priests offending between the years of 1950 and 2010 is tragic to everyone involved in the Catholic Church,” he said.
“One case is too many, one victim is one person who shouldn’t be damaged.
“This figure undermines the image and credibility of priests and the Catholic Church and the wonderful work that is done in the community.”
Father Lowcock said a key outcome of the Royal Commission for the Catholic Church was to ensure the abuse never happened again.
“The Catholic Church has developed a number of processes to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected,” he said.
“One of these is the recent establishment of Catholic Professional Standards Ltd, which will put in place minimum standards for church authorities and also monitor these under strict guidelines and will name and shame church authorities who are not meeting these standards.”