AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Pia Akerman
From: The Australian
October 26, 2013
JOHN Ellis, whose lawsuit against the Catholic Church prompted a landmark ruling on the church’s liability in sexual abuse claims, has condemned the church’s Towards Healing process for treating victims like “troublemakers” and reviving their trauma.
In a submission released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Mr Ellis and his wife Nicola describe their experience as solicitors who have acted for more than 200 victims of clerical sexual abuse.
They say participation in Towards Healing, which the church offers as an alternative to legal action, has led to “significant re-traumatisation” for many victims through its lack of transparency and accountability.
Mr Ellis himself has sought redress for being sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s, starting when he was a 14-year-old altar boy, and tried Towards Healing as an adult before suing the Sydney archdiocese trustees. The NSW Court of Appeal eventually ruled they could not be held liable for damages in abuse claims.
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