AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH JUNE 04, 2013
A GROUP of rebel Catholic bishops have today launched a petition to tell the people at the top – the Pope and the Vatican – to act to stop the abuse of children within the church.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, emeritus auxillary bishop of the Archdiocese of Sydney, said the national royal commission into institutionalised child sex abuse could bring healing and change laws but it could not force the church hierarchy to make fundamental changes.
“Millions of good Catholics have been deeply disillusioned, both by the revelations of widespread abuse and even more by what they have perceived as the defensive, uncaring and unchristian response on the part of many who have authority in the church and claim to speak in God’s name,” Bishop Robinson said today.
“Catholic people all over the world are sick of the scandal and this is a chance for them to speak up and join a collective voice that will be heard in Rome.”
The bishop, who resigned from the church in 2004 partly because of its lack of recognition that it had a massive sexual abuse problem, launched the petition today with the support of Bishop Pat Power, the retired bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, and Bishop Bill Morris.
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