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  Church Sex Abuse "Still a Problem"

By Courtney Trenwith
Brisbane Times
April 9, 2010

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/church-sex-abuse-still-a-problem-20100409-rvu3.html

The Catholic Church has significantly changed how it deals with sexual abuse claims but little has been done to prevent the crime, a high ranking Brisbane priest has revealed.

Brisbane Archdiocesan Chancellor Father Adrian Farrelly has responded to numerous complaints of inappropriate behaviour by serving and former Brisbane priests and says allegations continue to be made, although they have declined to a "very, very small" number.

Father Farrelly could not guarantee sexual abuse no longer took place within the Brisbane diocese and warned it was likely to occur again.

Speaking to brisbanetimes.com.au, Father Farrelly said Brisbane priests were "constantly" reminded to keep their behaviour above board, but the church did not have responsibility for teaching children how to deal with preying priests.

"I would imagine that the parents would do that," he said.

"They would help their sons and daughters understand what is appropriate behaviour from people and what isn't. I wouldn't know if they make a distinction [between] a priest [and] any other adult."

Father Farrelly said it was possible Brisbane children were still being abused by the men who provided them with spiritual guidance.

"I could honestly say I don't know," he said.

"Will it ever happen again, the answer would be yes.

"Abuse of kids in our society, whether it's by priests, family members or whatever, it's one of the side parts of our society."

Up to five people have personally complained to Father Farrelly of sexual abuse within the Brisbane diocese, while many more have been referred to him in his role as Archbishop Chancellor and canon lawyer.

"I've sat with victims over the years and ... talking to them as adults said to them, 'What you went through should never have happened, you were not to blame, you were taken advantage of'," said Father Farrelly, who was ordained in 1973.

"The ones I've spoken to were teenagers when the various abuses took place and at times they think 'I was responsible' but I assure them, no, this should not have happened to you."

Claims the sexual abuse scandal was a conspiracy to destroy the church were delusional, he said.

"We're not dealing with make believe," Father Farrelly said.

"People, men and women, boys and girls, have suffered abuse of varying degrees of intensity at the hands of church people.

"Priests and others can't say that you're dealing with something that's made up to discredit the church.

"People have done wrong and it's something that as a church we have to live with the consequences of."

Those consequences, some claim, have been grave.

The number of people who identify as being Catholic has significantly fallen across the world and mass attendance has declined.

Father Farrelly said Brisbane churches had not escaped the backlash, but he denied the emptying pews related only to the sex abuse scandal.

"Some would have [left the church because of the sex abuse] but I would think the majority would say, 'we think there are priests who've done the wrong thing but ... everything else that the church stands for in terms of continuing Christ's work on earth, it still holds true'," he said.

"Typically, the incidents of sexual abuse seems to have decreased because I think what we were dealing with was cases from the past, so some of the ones that would still be appearing now would be to do with abuse that took place many years ago, 20, 30, 40 years ago."

Victims and fellow churchgoers were "horribly disappointed" when the sordid lives of their white-collared leaders were revealed.

"Because the ones who have done the abuse are people [they] trusted and people who were doing good things in lots of other ways," Father Farrelly said.

"I've spoken to some people at times and they said, 'when I knew Father so and so he was this to our family, he was there when someone was dying ... we don't know this other side that has come out."

The Catholic Church preaches globally that it no longer attempts to cover up its dark secrets by transferring offenders to other parishes, where they sometimes re-offended.

However, new procedures adopted, following the worldwide revelations, does little to encourage victims to reveal their claims to outside authorities.

Father Farrelly said complaints made by Brisbane churchgoers were directed to the Brisbane diocese coordinator of the Towards Healing program and, secondly, to police.

Towards Healing was established in the 1990s in the wake of criticism of the church's handling of complaints.

It outlines the procedures for dealing with allegations of sexual abuse within the church.

Victims are told they can report the matter to police and if they choose not too, they must sign a waiver before the church will deal with the matter.

"We find out numbers for them to call and also tell them, if they wish, by all means call the police and report the matter there," Father Farrelly said.

"By all indications that I'm aware of it's working quite well because there's a publication - the process is there, people can see it and it gives the church and the church agencies something to follow.

"[However] procedures can always be improved."

He conceded the Catholic Church's image had been tarred by its attempts to cover up allegations and the lack of punishment for abusing priests.

Pedophile priests were transferred to other parishes as quietly as possible, and even those who knew what had taken place remained tight-lipped.

Father Farrelly said this was done not to hide the embarrassing claims but was in line with social standards at the time.

"Here we are in 2010 ... and we look back at how the church responded to matters 20, 30, 40 years ago and say that wasn't an adequate response," Father Farrelly said.

"The church normally did respond but the response that they often did then, which is in keeping with general society, of moving people around ... would now be regarded as completely inappropriate.

"So I would think that what we've got in place [now] is good."

 
 

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