Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News Australia

Melbourne archdiocese had culture of secrecy to protect Church interests, new report says

byMark Bowling
5 December 2017 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 3 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Royal Commission report
Commission report: The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has today released a report, describing “a culture of secrecy” inside the Melbourne archdiocese.

THE Archdiocese of Melbourne allowed paedophile priests to abuse scores of children, according to a report released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The report, which describes “a culture of secrecy” inside the Melbourne archdiocese, was released on December 5, just 10 days before the Commission’s final report is due to be handed down.

It found former Melbourne Archbishop Frank Little, who headed the archdiocese from 1974 until 1996, “sought to protect the archdiocese from scandal and liability and prioritised the interests of the Church over those of the victims”.

The Commission found Archbishop Little lied about the resignation of priests accused of child abuse, concealed ongoing financial assistance to some accused priests and moved others between parishes.

Sections of the Commission report that appear to deal with Cardinal George Pell who succeeded Archbishop Little as leader of Melbourne’s Catholics are redacted.

Cardinal Pell will face a four-week committal hearing next March as he fights sexual offence allegations. He denies the allegations.

In the report, Commissioners found there was a “practice of using oblique or euphemistic language in correspondence and records concerning complaints of child sexual abuse” with terms like “Special Issues” being used to refer primarily to complaints of child sexual abuse.

Commissioners also found that minutes of the meetings of the Curia (a body of senior clergy who advise and assist the archbishop) were generally euphemistic, incomplete and inaccurate.

None of the minutes referred directly to child sexual abuse or other similar terms.

Considering the evidence as a whole, Commissioners were satisfied that “there were such complaints which were or were likely to have been discussed” on various occasions.

Related Stories

Tough task ahead as PM stands by plan for a religious discrimination act

Fourth Anglican bishop in less than a year received into Catholic Church

Taliban target women’s rights as Australian bishops urge for more humanitarian places

“The purpose of not recording information was to protect the assets of the archdiocese in the event of a claim being made against it,” the Commission found.

Cover of new report by Royal Commission
Horrific findings: The cover of the new report released by the Royal Commission.

Commissioners found dysfunctional systems, procedures and practices operated in the archdiocese that inevitably led to poor outcomes in responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.

It included the structure of Catholic education in Victoria, whereby the parish priest was the employer of staff at parish schools.

Commissioners found that during the tenure of Archbishop Little, who died in 2008, decision-making within the Archdiocese in response to complaints of child sexual abuse against priests was highly centralised.

There were no effective checks and balances on the Archbishop’s exercise of powers in relation to priests who were the subject of complaints. Commissioners concluded: “As the evidence in the case study makes plain, a system for responding to complaints of child sexual abuse in which the exclusive authority for making decisions was vested in one person, is deeply flawed”.

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said he accepted the report’s conclusion that the Case Study showed there was a culture of secrecy in relation to complaints, which were dealt with in a way that sought to protect the archdiocese from scandal and liability and prioritised the interests of the Church over those of victims.

He said that mishandling of complaints against priests and church personnel and the resulting lack of response to such complaints led to unnecessary suffering for many victims and their families.

“As a Church we will learn from this Case Study and the upcoming Royal Commission’s report and I make a commitment to greater transparency in our processes, in order to assist victims and their families,” Archbishop Hart said

He said the Church “should be a safe place for children but the events point to it having been unsafe for all those who are victims”.

“Where this abuse occurred resulting from the passivity or inactivity of predecessors of mine, I sincerely apologise and accept responsibility,” he said.

Archbishop Hart said he was “confident” that the archdiocese and its parishes and schools had the policies, codes and processes required to ensure child safe environments and to deal with complaints and committed to ongoing safety and wellbeing of children in the Church’s care.

 

 

 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Good Samaritan Sister Mary McDonald ‘privileged’ to accompany people in their last months or weeks of life

Next Post

Community outrage over plans to overhaul heritage-listed Brisbane chapel

Mark Bowling

Mark is the joint winner of the Australian Variety Club 2000 Heart Award for his radio news reporting in East Timor, and has also won a Walkley award, Australia’s most-respected journalism award. Mark is the author of ‘Running Amok’ that chronicles his time as a foreign correspondent juggling news deadlines and the demands of being a husband and father. Mark is married with four children.

Related Posts

News

Tough task ahead as PM stands by plan for a religious discrimination act

10 May 2022
Becoming Catholic: Former Anglican Bishop Peter Forster of Chester, the fourth Anglican bishop to be received into the Catholic faith in less than a year. Photo: CNS
World

Fourth Anglican bishop in less than a year received into Catholic Church

8 February 2022
Australian veterans in pain as Afghanistan falls to Taliban
World

Taliban target women’s rights as Australian bishops urge for more humanitarian places

28 January 2022
Next Post
Villa Maria hostel

Community outrage over plans to overhaul heritage-listed Brisbane chapel

royal commission

Diocese of Ballarat failed to act in the interests of abused children for decades, Royal Commission reports says

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge

Archbishop Coleridge calls for new nuptial catechesis following same-sex marriage poll results

Popular News

  • Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

    Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia
Australia

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia

by Staff writers
26 May 2022
0

ETHIOPIAN Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel says his trip to Australia gives him the chance to thank individuals and...

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

26 May 2022
Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

26 May 2022
Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

25 May 2022
Hong Kong

Cardinal Joseph Zen appears in court in Hong Kong on day of prayer for China

25 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping