AUSTRALIA
7 News
Megan Neil – AAP on February 16, 2017
The Catholic Church admits its system that has paid $276 million in compensation to thousands of people sexually abused as children is still not fair to victims and an independent scheme is needed.
Victims who have sought redress from the church in Australia have received an average of $91,000 in compensation.
But there are huge differences in the average amount paid by different Catholic Church authorities – from as little as $22,000 to as much as $901,000.
The church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council chief executive Francis Sullivan says the data reinforces the need for an independent national redress scheme that takes the issue of compensation away from the church.
“Even though the church has paid $270 million and it took a long time to get its act together to do that, there’s no doubt the system of paying people and compensating them is best done independently of the church through a national redress scheme,” Mr Sullivan told AAP.
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