AUSTRALIA
The Age
Abuse victims seeking compensation told Catholic Church would endure long after they died, royal commission hears
Jane Lee
Ballarat’s Bishop Paul Bird told survivors seeking compensation that the Catholic Church would endure long after victims died and were forgotten, the royal commission into child sexual abuse has heard.
Survivor Andrew Collins, 46, told the commission on Thursday that he met with Bishop Bird in May 2013 with fellow survivor Peter Blenkiron asking for financial compensation to help other survivors “even if it was just to help them survive the week”.
The pair co-founded the Ballarat Survivors support group, many of whom have not told others about their abuse. They have lobbied for years for a Ballarat-based redress scheme to help survivors who can no longer work afford things like counselling and basic household bills.
Mr Collins said they asked Bishop Bird to pay the $252 difference between the disability pension and the pension paid to returned servicemen.
“We knew that some of the guys were just in so much difficulty and struggling to pay for things like medication,” he said.
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