Wednesday 7 September 2011

Catholic Church accused of still hiding child abuse - why am I not surprised?


The accusations and excuses then..
"Claims by Salesian old boys that they were sexually brutalised by a few priests and brothers have rocked the order and sent the Australian leadership into a bunker.
Apart from a brief statement by the order's head, Father Ian Murdoch - who negotiated a number of financial settlements with alleged sex abuse victims
- there has been no comment from the Salesians.
Roy was paid $45,000 in 2000 from the Salesians for alleged sexual abuse by Ayers. The Salesians denied liability.
Ayers is now seriously ill and reportedly dying in Samoa, where the Salesians sent him allegedly after
he was accused of abusing children."

{The Age 3rd July 2004}
"Mr Jones became the face of disgruntled victims this week when it was revealed that Cardinal Pell had falsely told him a church investigator dismissed his sexual assault claim against Father Terence Goodall, and that there had been no other victims...
Cardinal Pell called it an "innocent error" and formed
a panel to review the case"

{The Sydney Morning Herald 12th July 2008}

The accusations and excuses now..
"A LEADING child protection expert has urged the Victorian government to hold a public inquiry into the handling of child-sex cases by a religious order after the Catholic Church suppressed a report it asked him
to write.
Sydney University law professor Patrick Parkinson yesterday wrote to Victorian Attorney-General
Robert Clark and Police Minister Peter Ryan seeking
an inquiry into the behaviour of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
In his letter, Professor Parkinson says the Catholic Church's actions have cast doubt on its commitment
to protect children before it protects itself."

{The Age 30th August 2011
"POLICE ditched an investigation into a Catholic
priest {Fr Jack Ayers}accused of abusing Victorian schoolchildren because they considered him too old
to bring to justice.
Victorian detectives have also not interviewed a second Salesian priest who is working at the order's headquarters near the Vatican, despite a fresh abuse complaint being made against him more than a year ago.
An eight-month Herald Sun investigation has discovered alarming claims that authorities failed to properly act on complaints of sexual abuse within the Salesian order.

Click here to see priests in the Salesian shame file

{The Herald-Sun 5th September 2011}

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