Archbishop Denis Hart Begs Forgiveness for Church Mishandling Child Abuse
By Shannon Deery
EXCLUSIVE: ARCHBISHOP Denis Hart says he feels personally shamed and burdened over the Catholic Church's handling of child sexual abuse. The state's most senior Catholic said in a frank interview his faith had been tested, but had not wavered, in the wake of shocking revelations of decades-long child abuse within the church. He is now vowing to do whatever it takes to tackle the evil scourge. Have your say in the comments section below The Archbishop said he was horrified to learn of the widespread extent of the clergy abuse crisis after becoming vicar general in 1996 when he realised his predecessors had systematically protected paedophiles. Church guest house is 'pilgrim chic' Inside the Catholic Church's boutique guest house In his most wide-ranging interview since giving evidence at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry - in which he conceded sexual attacks were covered up and the church's reputation was put ahead of victims - Archbishop Hart said he: TOOK responsibility for the church's handling of abuse complaints FELT betrayed and let down by members of the church who had abused children and by those who had covered up their "heinous crimes" COULD have better responded personally to the abuse crisis BELIEVED the church had a responsibility to better reach out to victims, and RULED out ever advocating for priests to reveal secrets of the confessional. "I feel the burden that members of the church have offended and that the church hasn't responded quickly enough or adequately," he said. "I would have hoped that I may have been able to respond better, in a way that may have helped people." As a 15-year-old student at Xavier College planning a life in the priesthood, a young Denis Hart didn't know of the sexual abuse crisis within the church. Now as the leader of Melbourne's 1.1 million Catholics, in Australia's biggest diocese, Archbishop Hart says he feels let down by fellow clergy who breached their sacred trust. "I feel very sad. I feel very hurt. I do feel very betrayed," he said. "I do feel that this is an important thing that we have to learn from, and to grow from, so that this will never happen again." Archbishop Hart, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said he couldn't understand the evils committed by clergy against vulnerable children. "Every time I hear of abuse of a child it's a shocking revelation. I can't understand how any person could abuse a child," he said. "It's wrong. It's a heinous crime. It's an issue that society's got to grapple with and resolve ... so that the safety of our children can be assured."
Archbishop Hart said he first learned of the horrors of the abuse crisis after becoming vicar general in 1996, working alongside the then newly appointed archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell. He said he realised the problem had been swept under the carpet by his predecessors, including former archbishop Frank Little who he conceded kept few, if any, records of complaints and moved at least one paedophile priest to a new parish and into the lives of innocent children. "I was definitely shocked to see the extent and the nature of these awful crimes," Archbishop Hart said. "That, of course, was an awful realisation of what had been going on for quite some long time. It needed emergency activity. "We did inherit a situation where ... we inherited great difficulties". Together with archbishop Pell, and in consultation with Victoria Police, Archbishop Hart formulated the Melbourne Response to deal with the allegations. It has been the subject of much criticism, but Archbishop Hart stands by the model and has denied suggestions victims were encouraged not to report allegations to police. "It's an effort by us to try and walk with those who have suffered and to try, through the help of skilled people, to bring them through to some kind of peace," he said. "I've made apologies to every victim who's had a complaint, but apologies are not enough. Actions speak louder than words. "When I took over from archbishop Pell, I renewed my determination to really go forward and to address the matters and to try and bring compassionate responses." The Archbishop said it was his belief in the goodness of people that inspired him and gave him faith in the church's darkest hour. "The thing that sustains me is my faith in God and in God's love for me and for people. That doesn't waiver," he said. "I am challenged by people who do evil, but I want to try and lead the whole community to work through this issue so that evil, that awful evil, will be prevented, and so that the welfare of those who have suffered so much will be promoted, and they'll be helped." Archbishop Hart said while these were difficult times for Catholics, it was a good opportunity for the church to examine itself and change the way men were trained for the priesthood. "I'm certainly confident that we're so determined to address these matters, I think we can have a much greater certitude that our priests, our parish workers, our volunteers will act professionally because we have not only protocols, but people are much more alert of these possible evils." He said he had also been inspired by an increase in men applying to become priests and the work being done around the diocese's parishes, schools, hospitals and aged-care homes. "There is another side. "It's not to play down, or not to minimise this awful, awful tragedy and this awful, awful crime, but it's to say that the church is there for the long haul and we are determined to do the things that we do well and to make the contributions that we do to the world, and to redouble our efforts because of this dark side. "The church has been around for 2000 years and we have faced many challenges. We are totally committed to seeing this through. "We have made tremendous efforts. When I think where we might have been years ago ... I think we're light years further forward. "There still remains a lot to be done".
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