Posts Tagged Australian Catholic Church
The Catholic Church’s dirty secrets: abuse, injustice and a damning letter / Newcastle Herald
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on September 23, 2014
He’s the man whose statement to Hunter police about being sexually abused by a Catholic priest launched Strike Force Georgiana in 2007, and ultimately led to a royal commission.
“His name is John Parmeter, and he wants people to know who he is as Strike Force Georgiana enters its eighth year investigating historic child sexual abuse cases.
“The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will hold its 17th public hearing (the week of Sept. 22), with more than 16,000 calls about child sexual abuse so far, and another three years to go.
“The priest, Peter Brock, died last week. Today, Mr Parmeter reveals the ugly truth – what he calls the ‘dirty secrets’ – about the Catholic Church’s elevation of Father Brock to a national role in 2010, despite knowing of his ‘sexual misconduct’ with Mr Parmeter and his twin brother from when they were nine years old.”
By Joanne McCarthy, Newcastle Herald — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Senior Catholic May Face Abuse Cover-up Charges / The Australian
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on June 2, 2014
A senior Catholic Church official is potentially facing a historic criminal prosecution for allegedly covering up child sex abuse committed by a priest, after a report detailing evidence against the official was referred to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The confidential report, produced by a special commission of inquiry, was referred to the independent prosecutor’s office over the weekend by the NSW government, which received the document on Friday (May 30).”
By The Australian — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Where Does the Buck Stop in the Catholic Church? / ucanews.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 31, 2014
You could be forgiven for not knowing where the buck stops in the Catholic Church these days. In any society, organization or Church community, it is important to know who is ultimately responsible in decision making; otherwise, chaos or worse would prevail. In an unprecedented (for a cardinal) cross examination in court last week, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney seemed confused about responsibility in the Sydney Church. He was speaking for the Archdiocese of Sydney which he led from 2001 until his transfer to a job at the Vatican, appearing before the Royal Commission into child sex abuse in institutions, including the Church’s, across Australia.” By Michael Kelly, SJ, Executive Director of ucanews.com — Click here to read the rest of this commentary.
The Future of the Catholic Church — Catholicism in Australia Undergoing Tectonic Shifts / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clericalism, Future of the Church, Voice of the Faithful on March 18, 2014
More than a hundred people turned out on a Sunday afternoon in late November to the crypt of historic St. Patrick’s Church in Sydney for a presentation by a forensic psychologist on the sex abuse scandal jarring the Catholic community in Australia.
“During a question-and-answer session, a woman in the audience made a sarcastic reference to priests once thinking they were ‘ontologically different.’ The phrase provoked an immediate howl of laughter, as if she’d delivered a punch line of a joke.”
By Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this sotry.
UN Sex Abuse Report Holds Bishops Accountable / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Clericalism, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 5, 2014
In an unprecedented report critical of the Catholic church’s handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, the United Nations demanded Wednesday (Feb. 5) the Vatican immediately remove all clergy known or suspected to be child abusers, turn them over to civil authorities, and hold ‘those who concealed their crimes’ accountable.
“The report by the U.N. watchdog for children’s rights targets bishops for enabling the abuse over decades. Church child sex abuse watchdogs maintain many hundreds of bishops have enabled and covered up abuse but have never been held accountable by authorities inside or outside the church.
“The UN report called on the Vatican to turn over tens of thousands of potentially incriminating documents held in its archives, according to various news reports.”
By Thomas C. Fox, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Voice of the Faithful® has always advocated for accountability for bishops who covered up the crimes of clergy sexual abuse, enabling those crimes to continue to be perpetrated for many years. The U.N. is now saying what we and other victims’ rights groups worldwide have always insisted. Under Pope Francis, we hope that such accountability will become standard, rather than the grievous omission it now is. We must point out, as well, that some will use the “telling the Church what to do” argument to downplay the entire U.N. report, including and especially the part about clergy sexual abuse.
Also of interest:
- U.N. Blasts Vatican on Sex Abuse
- U.N. Panel Assails Vatican Over Sexual Abuse by Priests
- Vatican Press Office Response to U.N. Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse
- Full U.N. Report — Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of the Holy See
- U.N. Panel Blasts Vatican Handling of Clergy Sexual Abuse, Church Teachings on Gays, Abortion
Australian Inquiry Scrutinizes Church / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on December 31, 2013
The clergy sexual abuse scandal in Australia seems to be following a familiar script, with many acts still to come.
Australian survivors of clerical sexual abuse have been complaining for years about their dissatisfaction with Towards Healing, the Catholic church’s national protocol for responding to abuse. The inner workings of Towards Healing were laid bare in November and December during two weeks of public hearings held here before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse …
“One thousand private hearings have already been conducted. One of the most shocking revelations in early December concerned the handling of allegations of abuse by Marist Br. Raymond Foster, a teacher who committed suicide in 1999, just hours before he was due to face charges of abusing a 13-year-old boy in a north Queensland school in the early 1970s.”
By Stephen Crittenden, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the entire article.
Australian Catholic Church Paid $43 Million to Keep Abuse Secret / The Herald Sun
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on December 10, 2013
The Catholic Church has admitted paying at least $43 million in hush money to victims of its pedophile priests, as the church’s barrister outraged victims yesterday (Dec. 9) by quoting from the Bible. In some cases, victims were not even allowed to tell their husbands, wives or children about the secret settlements negotiated through the church’s controversial Towards Healing process.” By Janet Fife-Yeomans, The Daily Telegraph on HeraldSun.com.au — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Australian Priests Asked to Read at Mass A Statement of Commitment on Child Sexual Abuse
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on November 14, 2013
Yesterday, we posted links to news regarding the release of a Victoria, Australia, parliamentary inquiry report that castigated the Church for “horrific sexual abuse cover-ups.” The Catholic Church in Australia issued a statement yesterday which said, in part, that the “whole Church in Australia is deeply ashamed.” Below is the statement that priests were instructed to read to their congregations:
COMMITMENT STATEMENT FROM LEADERS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA
The Catholic Church in Australia, in its submissions to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and in its communications with both the Catholic and broader communities has made the following commitment:
The leaders of the Catholic Church in Australia recognize and acknowledge the devastating harm caused to people by the crime of child sexual abuse. We take this opportunity to state:
- 1. Sexual abuse of a child by a priest or religious is a crime under Australian law and under canon law.
- 2 Sexual abuse of a child by any Church personnel, whenever it occurred, was then and is now indefensible.
- 3 That such abuse has occurred at all, and the extent to which it has occurred, are facts of which the whole Church in Australia is deeply ashamed.
- 4 The Church fully and unreservedly acknowledges the devastating, deep and ongoing impact of sexual abuse on the lives of the victims and their families.
- 5 The Church acknowledges that many victims were not believed when they should have been.
- 6 The Church is also ashamed to acknowledge that, in some cases, those in positions of authority concealed or covered up what they knew of the facts, moved perpetrators to another place, thereby enabling them to offend again, or failed to report matters to the police when they should have. That behavior too is indefensible.
- 7 Too often in the past it is clear some Church leaders gave too high a priority to protecting the reputation of the Church, its priests, religious and other personnel, over the protection of children and their families, and over compassion and concern for those who suffered at the hands of Church personnel. That too was and is inexcusable.
- 8 In such ways, Church leaders betrayed the trust of their own people and the expectations of the wider community.
- 9 For all these things the Church is deeply sorry. It apologises to all those who have been harmed and betrayed. It humbly asks for forgiveness.
The leaders of the Catholic Church in Australia commit ourselves to endeavour to repair the wrongs of the past, to listen to and hear victims, to put their needs first, and to do everything we can to ensure a safer future for children.
First published in the Truth Justice and Healing Council’s Towards Healing submission to Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, September 2013
Truth Justice and Healing Council
PO Box 4593 KINGSTON ACT 2604 | Tel: +61 2 6234 0900 | Fax: +61 2 6234 0999
Australian State of Victoria Releases Report on Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on November 13, 2013
The Catholic Church figures prominently in the Australian state of Victoria’s report released today on the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organizations.
As an indication of the impact of the inquiry, the news coverage is too extensive even to list a sampling, but click here for a Google round-up of stories about its investigation and results. One of the most recent stories, Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse Prompts Push to Make Abuse Silence a Crime, reports, “Horrific sexual abuse cover-ups by the Catholic Church has led to a parliamentary committee recommending new offences for grooming children and failing to report crimes.”
As you might expect, the report is rather lengthy, but here are links to the executive summary and both volumes:
Catholic Church Admits Grave Faults in Dealing with Abuse Victims / The Guardian
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Voice of the Faithful on October 3, 2013
The Catholic Church has admitted grave faults in its dealings with victims of sex abuse by priests. The peak body that represents the church, the Truth Justice and Healing Council, has reported shoddy record-keeping, secrecy, inconsistent outcomes and lack of effective supervision of the dioceses and religious orders responsible for the care of victims.” By David Marr, The Guardian
Read the rest of the story by clicking here.
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
Voice of the Faithful- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Voice of the Faithful ® 