AUSTRALIA
Macedon Ranges Weekly
By DAN MOSS STATE PARLIAMENT EDITOR
Jan. 28, 2013, midnight
A VAST majority of Catholics were “horrified” and “overwhelmed” by reports of child sexual abuse and “want something done”, former Gladstone Park priest Philip O’Donnell has said.
Mr O’Donnell, who also served in Sunbury, told a Victorian Senate inquiry into how the churches handle child sex abuse that “countless thousands” of victims in Victoria had not yet come forward and reported abuse at the hands of church representatives.
A former priest who served from 1969-99, Mr O’Donnell said he “knew” sexual abuse of children occurred, and he reported it. But he faced years of the claims being deferred and “swept under the carpet”.
The ‘Melbourne Response’, a protocol that the Catholic church used to deal with reports of sexual abuse against priests and other church staff, should be disbanded, he said.
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.