AUSTRALIA
The Australian
AUGUST 21, 2014
Pia Akerman
Reporter
Melbourne
A SENIOR lawyer who was instrumental in establishing the Melbourne Catholic archdiocese’s compensation scheme for victims of clergy sex abuse has denied any economic modelling was undertaken before a $50,000 cap was established.
This was despite the church’s plan to offer the scheme as an alternative to civil litigation.
Richard Leder, who acts on behalf of the archdiocese, its archbishops and its representatives in the Melbourne Response, yesterday told a royal commission that $50,000 was insufficient to meet the needs of some victims.
But he defended the church’s intentions in setting up the scheme and denied its requirement that participants waive their rights to future litigation was intended to protect the church and its assets.
“I don’t agree, but I can see people would say that,” Mr Leder said, prompting jeers from the public gallery during his testimony in Melbourne.
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