AUSTRALIA
7 News
ANNETTE BLACKWELL
June 30, 2014
The pastoral got shoved aside as financial payouts became the focus of the Catholic Church’s system of dealing with abuse victims, the fourth royal commission public hearing discovered.
Towards Healing – a protocol put in place by Catholic bishops in 1997 to help people who were sexually abused by clergy – was the focus of this hearing.
The process was shown to be inconsistent and at times poorly run. The church agreed that once insurers took over, the pastoral got lost.
Two women abused by priests and two men sexually assaulted by Marist brothers told of their journey through Towards Healing.
Payouts varied widely depending on the diocese and who was running the process.
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