What the Council Will Be Doing

Truth, Justice and Healing Council
May 17, 2013

http://www.tjhcouncil.org.au/

The Truth, Justice and Healing Council has been established by the Catholic Church to help the Church fully embrace the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The Council will help the Church deal with the tragic legacy of child sexual abuse and help victims and survivors to be heard and supported.

The Royal Commission is an opportunity for the Church to explain the way it has treated victims and survivors, to acknowledge past wrongs and failings and to find ways in which to work towards justice and healing for all.

Importantly, it is an opportunity for victims and survivors of sexual abuse to come forward and be heard in an environment of support and safety.

The Truth, Justice and Healing Council will represent dioceses, archdioceses and religious congregations from across Australia before the Royal Commission.

The Council will do everything possible to ensure the Church co-operates with the Commission in a spirit of openness, transparency and compassion.

We will instruct our lawyers to treat victims with respect and consideration, to be open and transparent with the Commission and not hide behind legal technicalities.

The Council will also work on developing new policies and procedures to protect young people in the future and to ensure the Church responds to any future complaints appropriately and justly, putting the needs of victims and survivors first.

Since the mid-1990s the Church has made many improvements and put in place new procedures designed to prevent sexual abuse and to ensure past victims and survivors are treated with dignity and respect.

These improvements and procedures will be built upon as we learn more from victims and survivors who come forward to the Royal Commission and as the Council undertakes its own research and policy development.