AUSTRALIA
9 News
AAP
Australia’s most senior Anglican will face a royal commission to answer for what the church is doing to prevent a repeat of its “shocking” failure to tackle child sexual abuse.
Primate and Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier says the church is determined to adopt a uniform national approach to protecting children.
Archbishop Freier says since apologising in 2004 for its child abuse failures, the church has invested a great deal of energy in seeking to understand the nature and cause of its failings and has made improvements in many areas.
“We are not trying to make excuses for failures past or present,” he said on Friday as the child abuse royal commission’s final hearing into the Anglican Church began.
Newcastle Bishop Greg Thompson, who is resigning after being harassed and feeling threatened for being a public face for child abuse victims, has told the inquiry vested interests in the 23 Anglican dioceses are still undermining efforts to get a uniform national response.
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