Church's Corporate Approach to Victims

The Sky News
December 11, 2013

http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=932841


Sex abuse victims who went to a Catholic Church mediation with a lawyer would lose the right to pastoral support, an inquiry has been told.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is looking at the church's internal process for dealing with sex abuse victims.

It was told on Tuesday the approach in the late 1990s was a standard one and required an insured to make no admission of liability.

The commission is examining the experience of four abuse victims who went through the Church's Towards Healing procedure, which was established in 1996.

The process failed Joan Isaacs, who was abused by a priest when she was 14 and 15 while attending a convent school in Brisbane, the commission heard on Monday.

After several years of negotiation, Ms Isaacs, who was sexually and emotionally abused by Father Frank Derriman, was offered $30,000 compensation and made to sign confidentiality agreements.

In evidence to the commission on Tuesday, it was revealed that Catholic Church Insurers (CCI) was advising those involved in the facilitation process.

A statement from Laurie Rolls, who was manager of Special Projects CCI, was read.

Special Projects dealt with sex abuse issues.

In his statement, Mr Rolls, now 85 and unwell, said during the early years of Towards Healing, CCI typically continued to treat claims relating to child sexual abuse in much the same way as it dealt with other insurance claims.

'It usually required an insured to make no admission of liability, it was wary of allowing apologies to be made, and it required or encouraged insureds to take advantage of limitation and other technical defences when they were available.'

A letter in April 1999 from Mr Rolls to the then Auxiliary Bishop of the Brisbane archdiocese, Rev John Joseph Gerry, pointed out that the six-year statute of limitations would apply to Ms Isaacs' case if she went to the Queensland courts.

He noted it had been the custom of the archdiocese in such cases to 'give sympathetic hearing to applications for assistance with counselling in recognition of the suffering experienced by the applicant, although it is clearly understood the responsibility lies with the alleged offender rather than the Archdiocese'.

There might be commercial reasons for offering to pay some compensation on an ex gratia basis, Mr Rolls told the bishop.

He mentioned concern that Ms Isaacs' support person was a lawyer.

'It should also be remembered that if Ms Isaacs resorts to legal representation she forfeits the right to your continuing to offer pastoral communication,' the letter stated.

The pastoral communication referred to the offer of counselling.

The commission has heard the Towards Healing process has been revised twice since then and the compensation and pastoral aspects have been separated.

The hearing is continuing.