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  Church 'Ignoring' Male Violence

By Richard Yallop
The Australian [Australia]
March 22, 2005

SEXUAL and emotional violence towards women by priests and church workers has been ignored by a "feudal" male hierarchy in Adelaide's Anglican diocese.

Melbourne academic Zoe Morrison based her findings on a survey of 57 of Adelaide's 106 Anglican priests and in-depth interviews with 12 of the group.

She said the survey revealed an entrenched culture of hostility towards women and a reluctance by church authorities to investigate complaints of abuse.

Dr Morrison's report, to be released today to Adelaide's clergy, indicates a spectrum of verbal and physical assault towards women, ranging from isolated allegations of rape to bullying and harassment. It also alleges assaults by male clergy on female clergy.

Dr Morrison, a 27-year-old Rhodes scholar and specialist in the exercise of power in relationships, said that while child sexual abuse was now well recognised, abuse of female adults was not recognised, and in many instances church leaders had suppressed knowledge of it.

The Adelaide diocese is already reeling from the child abuse scandal allegedly involving former St Peter's College chaplain John Mountford, which led to the resignation of former archbishop Ian George in June last year.

South Australian police successfully applied to Thai authorities for the extradition of Mr Mountford, who is expected back in Adelaide within two weeks.

The diocese, still without an archbishop following its failure to agree on a successor to Dr George, commissioned the Morrison report last year.

It came in the wake of the board of inquiry into the handling of claims of sexual abuse and misconduct in the Adelaide diocese, conducted by academic Donna Chung and retired judge Trevor Ollson.

Dr Morrison told The Australian that while the Adelaide diocese had made much progress on child protection by educating priests and church members, it had not faced the "alarming" issue of adult abuse, and had even discouraged priests and victims from raising it.

She cited one priest who attempted to raise concerns over a woman in a neighbouring parish.

He was told by a senior church official to "stay out of it" and not believe what the victim said.

Archdeacon Peter Stuart, who moved to Adelaide in 2001 and backed Dr Morrison to write the report, said he was "alarmed at the indications of a culture that makes adult women unsafe".

He said aspects of the church needed to change.

"We want to transform the culture, and the way to do that is through education on harassment, mandatory notification, responding to disclosures of sexual assault, and recognising abusive behaviour," Archdeacon Stuart said.

Kathy Thomson, one of Adelaide's 16 female priests, said she had not personally experienced sexual assault by a male priest.

Nor had she heard of another woman priest being assaulted. But she had experienced hostility from older clergy members who did not approve of women priests.

"Male paternalism was rife in the past, and it's still present," Archdeacon Thomson said.

"But there is an improvement as people see women in roles of responsibility."