AUSTRALIA
SBS
Source AAP 20 AUG 2014
Catholic Church payouts to victims of pedophile priests don’t recognise the harm they have suffered, a lawyer for the Melbourne archdiocese says.
Many victims have told the abuse royal commission they’ve received only “token amounts” in compensation under the church’s Melbourne Response scheme for handling clergy sex abuse complaints.
Lawyer Richard Leder, who represents the Melbourne archdiocese, said it was clear now that the capped payouts set under the Melbourne Response don’t recognise the harm suffered by victims.
“It is clear that for some victims the ability to receive only up to $75,000 in lump sum compensation indicates that the compensation component of the Melbourne Response is not achieving the objective that it was set out to achieve in terms of delivering a financial recognition of the harm.
“I’m absolutely supportive of the commitments that the archbishop has made to review those matters,” Mr Leder told the royal commission on Wednesday.
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