AUSTRALIA
Neos Cosmos
29 Apr 2013
Helen Velissaris
Archbishop Stylianos has revealed the Greek Orthodox Church is not immune to child sex abuse cases a week after the Church fronted the Victorian parliamentary inquiry on the issue denying culpability.
The Archbishop believes that no religious organisation is immune, as the pattern of abuse isn’t an organisational problem, but a human one.
“Religious organisations, which consist of human beings, even as clergymen, can never be regarded in advance as immune of such criminal acts,” he told Neos Kosmos.
At the inquiry, Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis denied there were any cases of child sex abuse by Greek orthodox clergyman in Victoria and affirmed there were no attempts at cover up or “sweep under the carpet anything serious”.
But, as The Age reported this week, the Bishop “misled” the inquiry, saying there is at least one case where a priest has been charged for indecently assaulting a minor.
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