AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
September 14, 2015
Lucy Battersby
The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s process of assisting people sexually abused by its priests or members discouraged victims from contacting police, according to a study by the federal government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The commission noted several problems with the Melbourne Response – a program set up by Cardinal George Pell in late 1996 when he was Archbishop of Melbourne – in a report released on Monday.
The case study identified 12 systemic issues, including the role of the Catholic Church in determining its own redress, and the “relationship between those delivering or coordinating counselling and pyschological care and those making decisions about the abuse and compensation”.
In particular, the commission expressed concern that the church’s own law firm was instructing both the independent commissioner and the archdiocese about the same cases, noting “Corrs’ position as lawyers responsible for the Melbourne Response, as well as solicitors for the Archdiocese, raises a clear potential for conflict. It also raises difficulties with confidentiality.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.