AUSTRALIA
ABC News
The Catholic Church has established a new body to handle sexual abuse complaints in the ACT region.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse from the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese has launched the Institute for Professional Standards and Safeguarding.
Archbishop Prowse said the move was in response to the recent focus on the church’s responses to child sexual abuse through the royal commission.
“Too many [survivors], regrettably, have spoken of being confronted by a brutal and defensive church governance structure that refused to take responsibility,” Archbishop Prowse said.
“The aim is to support survivors with the reassurance that all our communities are safe, our children and vulnerable people are truly cared for, and the spiritual dimension of all we do is not compromised by unethical and criminal behaviour.”
Archbishop Prowse said the institute would be headed by a lawyer and former senior police officer.
“The manager [Jane Cronan] is a wonderful woman with a legal background, particularly in this area,” he said.
“The director [Matt Casey] is a former senior detective.”
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