AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Catholic Church ‘lacking leadership’ to deal with child sex abuse, professor says
PIA AKERMAN
From:The Australian
April 04, 20131
A LACK of decisive leadership within the Catholic church has thwarted a cultural shift which would better address problems of child sexual abuse, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.
Professor Caroline Taylor, social justice foundation chair at Edith Cowan University, today told the Victorian child abuse inquiry that there had not been significant change within the church hierarchy despite the raft of allegations revealed over the past five years.
“Unfortunately I don’t see anything that would have me jumping for joy,” said Professor Taylor who has specialised in research relating to sexual offences.
“I think that there has been no leadership to take this forward, that is what’s missing.
“There hasn’t been that leadership that can grab the community, take the community forward with them and say that we need to have an open discussion, we need to have an exchange of views and opinions.”
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