AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now
THE Catholic Church has saved hundreds of millions of dollars through its Melbourne Response complaints system, but it has been a very poor result for clergy abuse victims, a father whose two daughters were abused says.
More than 300 victims of clergy abuse have made complaints through the Melbourne-based process, with the majority of those complaints upheld, the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse heard on Tuesday.
Victims’ payments were initially capped at $50,000 under the system, but have now increased to $75,000.
But many victims have criticised the response, which was set up by Cardinal George Pell when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, saying the money is inadequate.
Anthony Foster, whose two daughters were raped by a priest, said the system had saved the Catholic Church in Melbourne at least $250 million, but had failed victims.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.