BishopAccountability.org
	Victims Criticise Catholic Church over Allegations ABC September 14, 2011 http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2011/s3317264.htm [with audio] ELEANOR HALL: Now to the latest in the stand-off between the senator and the Catholic Church. Independent federal Senator Nick Xenophon used parliamentary privilege last night to name an Adelaide priest who is accused of raping a man 50 years ago. The accusation was not formally reported to police but the church has known about it for more than four years, and victims' groups says it indicates the church has learned nothing from its past mistakes in the way that it deals with sexual assault allegations. This morning senior Catholic figures defended the time it has taken to investigate the allegation as well as the decision not to stand down the priest. But that's only served to enrage victims' groups, as Simon Santow reports. SIMON SANTOW: South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon was unapologetic this morning over his decision to name and shame a Catholic priest last night under parliamentary privilege. NICK XENOPHON: Parliamentary privilege is a very serious matter. It is a matter that needs to be taken with the utmost seriousness and I'm grateful to the president for reminding me of the rules but I'm well aware of the rules as to parliamentary privilege and its importance. SIMON SANTOW: Senator Xenophon says he did so because the church has spent four years investigating a complaint and not reaching a conclusion, and at the same time the alleged perpetrator has been allowed to keep preaching at an Adelaide parish. Despite being given an ultimatum, the Archdiocese in Adelaide says his actions are surprising and disappointing. Some politicians say the senator has overstepped the mark and certainly the Catholic Church believes he has. BRIAN LUCAS: I think what Senator Xenophon failed to make clear in his statement is that the allegations that Archbishop Hepworth had made have no relationship to anything involving children, so the question of perception of risk has been quite misleading. The allegations relate to a claim involving two priests in their late 20s some 40 or so years ago. There's been no complaint by Archbishop Hepworth to the police, which is where such a matter should be taken. SIMON SANTOW: But he has complained to the Catholic Church. Have they taken his complaint seriously in your view? BRIAN LUCAS: From my understanding the Archbishop of Adelaide has taken the complaint very seriously. SIMON SANTOW: That was Father Brian Lucas from the Australian Bishops Conference on AM this morning. He also used his interview to defend the church's handling of the whole matter. BRIAN LUCAS: At the time when the initial complaint was made, Archbishop Hepworth indicated he wasn't psychologically ready for a detailed inquiry. SIMON SANTOW: Do you think that now it has been aired in the Senate that the priest in question should have been stood down? BRIAN LUCAS: The question of standing someone down relates to perception of risk. We have an unproven allegation, the person making the allegation has chosen not to take the allegation to the police. For someone to stand down simply on that basis where there is no perceived risk to children doesn't seem at all necessary. SIMON SANTOW: Victims' groups say the comments from such a senior figure in the Catholic Church show that nothing is being learned on how to deal with these types of allegations. They argue the church's blueprint, Towards Healing, is fundamentally flawed. NIKKI WELLS: The Towards Healing document looks fantastic on paper but it's really not worth the paper it's written on because the Catholic Church itself does not comply by their own procedures as set down in that document. SIMON SANTOW: Nikki Wells is from Survivors Australia. NIKKI WELLS: The Catholic Church has an amazing PR team and lots of PR practice behind them. You know, they change the rules to suit their game and, you know, as a friend of mine, Father Tom Doyle in the United States says if a Catholic's moving his lips you can bet they're lying. SIMON SANTOW: So your experience of the degree to which they take complaints seriously… NIKKI WELLS: Look, I don't think they take them seriously at all. I think this is part of what Survivors Australia is all about is creating awareness in the public not to go to the Catholic Church because we consider the way in which they handle complaints as re-abuse of victims. They do not take complaints seriously at all. They see it as an opportunity to sweep an issue under the carpet and cover it up. SIMON SANTOW: I know that not all victims want to go to the police. A lot of them do want the church that they allege has done things to them to rectify it, to make amends. Should that not be possible though? NIKKI WELLS: Look I think that what happens is generally speaking if you're the victim of Catholicism - can I say that? - you go to the church with good faith, in good faith. You want them to help you, first of all, to get the perpetrator off the streets, which we all know does not happen. What the church should be doing is not be held above the law, they should be reporting these crimes immediately to the police. SIMON SANTOW: So even if the victim in this case says I don't want to take it up with the police, I want you to deal with it, you think that the church itself has a responsibility to go to the police? NIKKI WELLS: Most definitely, just as anyone else in the community does. SIMON SANTOW: You believe that they should have their wishes ignored? NIKKI WELLS: Look I don't think their wishes should be ignored, however generally - and Brian Lucas hangs his hat on this which infuriates survivors - he often says survivors don't want to go to the police. We respect their wishes. The fact of the matter is that survivors want the church to take action to get these perpetrators off the streets and away from being able to harm any further people. If they choose not to go to the police then that's entirely up to them but the report should be made so that the police have a record of these allegations just in case in the future if this survivor does want to take the allegation further they may, or they may be able to link it to other crimes which may have been reported. ELEANOR HALL: That's Nikki Wells from the victims' group Survivors Australia ending Simon Santow's report.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.