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Royal Commission Hearing Starts into Lismore Children's Home

By Ashleigh Raper
The 7 News
November 18, 2013

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19893870/royal-commission-hearing-starts-into-lismore-childrens-home/

The royal commission has begun hearing of the decades of abuse at the North Coast Children's Home, run by the Anglican Church in Lismore.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard horrific personal accounts from former residents of the New South Wales North Coast Children's Home.

This morning the commission this morning began its third round of public hearings, this time to examine the alleged sexual and physical abuse of up to 200 children at the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore.

Counsel assisting the commission Simeon Beckett told the opening in Sydney this morning that the hearing will consider what happened at the home and how the Anglican Diocese of Grafton responded to allegations of abuse.

"The conditions for the children in the home were harsh. In at least the 1950s and '60s, food and clothing were limited," he said.

"Former residents have provided accounts to the royal commission that the children were often hungry. Former child residents of the home have provided detailed accounts of the sexual abuse they suffered over the period 1944 to 1985."

He provided graphic details of some of the assaults that children as young as five suffered at the hands of priests and other residents at the home.

"Those people have said the lifetime effects of the sexual and often physical abuse have been devastating and have had long lasting effects on their mental health and their families," Mr Beckett said.

In 2006, the Anglican Church made payments to 38 victims in an out-of-court settlement.

But Mr Beckett told the hearing the church's approach to claims of abuse then changed.

"Three former residents of the home, 'CE', 'CF' and 'CG', who claim they had been abused, were denied any financial settlement," he told the hearing.

"The royal commission will explore whether the position the diocese had changed and what factors may have affected that apparent change."

Seven former residents of the home are expected to give evidence to the commission.

First witness recalls physical and sexual abuse at hands of clergymen

The first witness to appear this morning did not want to reveal his identity publicly, but told of being physically abused by staff and sexually abused by clergy.

He held back tears as he gave evidence.

"The church failed in their duty of care," he said.

"The effects of the home have been with me all my life. I have been diagnosed with depression and have attempted suicide."

He said when the class action was launched in 2006 the Anglican Church did everything possible to hinder the case.

"The Anglican Church did everything to be a hindrance to the progression of the case, disowning any connection or their responsibility for the Church of England North Coast Children's Home," he said.

"Coming here today is what I call a bittersweet situation. Bitter because I have to reveal publicly for the first time the things and the events. Sweet because it will open everything up."

'Outsiders turned a blind eye'

Another victim told the commission the abuse at the home was severe, and outsiders turned a blind eye.

For years, Tommy Campion has spoken out about the physical and sexual abuse that allegedly went on at the home, and today he was able to tell his story to the royal commission.

Mr Campion said the abuse was constant and horrendous, "but no-one ever picked up on the abuse".

He said things were different when he wrote a letter to the Anglican Diocese of Grafton in 2005, detailing his abuse.

Mr Campion told the commission the initial response was "wonderful" and it acknowledged he would have suffered pain.

But he said after the initial positive response everything changed when he started talking to the media and mounted a class action.

Mr Campion told the commission the response from the Anglican Church and the diocese of Grafton in 2006 was negative.

He said their response was: "We'll fight you to till the very end. We'll take you to court. We'll do everything we can to stop you."

He said the Church told him: "We did not own the home. We did not run the home".

When asked about why he thought the Church changed its position from the initial response, he said: "They thought they might have to pay out a lot of money, it might destroy the name of the Church."

Anglican Church still dealing with victims' complaints

Before the hearing began Reverend David Hanger, chair of the professional standards committee for the diocese of Grafton, acknowledged the Anglican Church failed to respond properly when the class action was launched.

"We allowed ourselves to get caught up in legal responsibilities instead of looking at the people and their needs and in the end for us, it was a failure of love," Reverend Hanger said.

"At the heart of the Christian ethic is the ethic of love. We as a diocese, in our response, didn't model Jesus."

Reverend Hanger said the church is still dealing with complaints from victims at the home, but most of the perpetrators from the North Coast Children's Home are dead.

He said there are some suspects who are still alive and any allegations have been passed on to police.

"Currently we are close to finalising four complaints and there are three others that we are investigating at this stage," Reverend Hangar said.

The North Coast Children's Home is still owned by the Anglican Church, and it is still operated as a home for troubled youths.

The royal commission hearings into the home will run for two weeks.




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