Almost one in ten Ballarat priests accused of child sex abuse, inquiry told

By Melissa Cunningham
Border Mail
February 6, 2017

http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/4450467/almost-one-in-ten-ballarat-priests-accused-of-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-told/?cs=12

Peter Blenkiron

Andrew Collins

Ballarat Catholic Diocese Vicar-general Justin Driscoll

Almost one in ten priests in the Diocese of Ballarat had allegations of child sexual abuse levelled against them between 1950 and 2010, an inquiry heard. 

The magnitude of the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal has been brought to light with a royal commission hearing almost 4500 people have made claims of child sexual abuse over the past 35 years.

Data gathered by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse revealed between January 1980 and February 2015, found 4444 people have come forward with alleged incidents of child sexual abuse in relation to 93 Catholic Church authorities. 

Ballarat was found to have 8.7 per cent of alleged perpetrators and was ranked seventh worst in Australia.

The Diocese of Sale was ranked worst in Australia.

The inquiry heard proportionally 15.1 per cent of its priests were alleged perpetrators.

Some of Australia's most notorious abusers were part of a paedophile ring operating in Ballarat for decades. 

In 1971, all male teachers and the chaplain at the St Alipius Christian Brothers Boys School were molesting children.

It is feared some of the worst offenders had hundred of victims.

During the first day of the final hearing into the Catholic Church in Sydney, the inquiry heard more than 20 per cent of the members of some Catholic religious orders, including the Christian Brothers, were allegedly involved in child sexual abuse.  

The commission heard that of the 1880 alleged perpetrators 597 were religious brothers, 572 were priests, 543 were lay people and 96 were religious sisters.

Of the alleged perpetrators 90 per cent were male.

The head of the Diocese of Ballarat’s professional standards lawyer Michael Myers said significant steps had been taken by the diocese to protect children, including the roll-out of a safeguarding officer in every parish in western Victoria.

Mandatory reporting of suspected sexual abuse of child is also stipulated in the Ballarat diocese’s code of conduct.

“The church in Ballarat is a vastly different place than it was during the dark days of the 1960s, 70s and 80s,” Mr Myers said.

“Every parish is to have a safeguarding policy, a code of conduct about protecting children, and they must adhere to the state government’s child-safe standards.

“We know that in the past concerns weren't acted on and this was one cause of the disaster and tragedy that was child sex abuse in our diocese.”

Mr Myers said the diocese was also joining the National Council of Churches safeguarding program which provided specialised training for church leaders on identifying and responding to child sexual abuse.

Ballarat Clergy sexual abuse survivor Peter Blenkiron said the ripple effects of the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandal were catastrophic.

He called for zero tolerance policy on clergy accused of abuse. 

“No percentage of accused paedophiles inside the Catholic Church is acceptable, it should be zero,” he said. 

“The church needs to outline how it will make sure it won’t happen again.”

He said the harrowing statistics reinforced the need for action and redress for all victims of child sexual abuse and their families.

“The impact on the wider community is not just in terms of mental health but physical health,” he said. 

“We are seeing more and more damage... the high rates of drug and alcohol abuse and suicide are all part of it.

“The fallout of this destruction is to the very fabric of our humanity.

“We need support systems in place so that premature death isn't the only way forward.”

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins said recent estimates suggest more than 4 per cent of Catholic clergy may still be offenders.

Survivor  Andrew Collins said recent estimates suggest more than 4 per cent of Catholic clergy may still be offenders.

He called for intervention from Attorney-Generals, police commissioners and state and federal governments. 

“Survivors are becoming increasingly frustrated because we feel nothing is being done,” he said.

“The saddest part is we aren’t even shocked by the figures.”

 “Today we heard about 20 per cent and 40 per cent of clergy in some religious orders raped and sexually abused children.”

“If it was any other organisation it would be immediately deemed a criminal organisation so why hasn’t this happened with the Catholic Church?”

The hearing is also expected to examine the role of confession, mandatory celibacy, Canon law, the use of secrecy, psycho-sexual factors involving clergy, and screening, selection and training of priests. 

Ballarat Catholic Diocese Vicar-general Justin Driscoll said psychological screening for priests was more rigorous than it has ever been.

“Education and training that happens before ordination is far more holistic,” he said.

“It is integrated spiritual, academic and emotional.”

“It focuses on all the aspects that make us human, but the big difference is not only do we look at pre-assessment screening and the initial training but we also commit to ongoing professional supervision and greater accountability.” 

Ballarat Bishop Paul Bird established the dioceses’s professional standards consultative panel which outlines the process for responding to complaints of abuse of children, review current policies and implement new policies in 2013.

“Policy, education and oversight of policy have been really important in us being able to change our practice which in turn also shifts a culture change,” Father Driscoll said.

The inquiry heard nearly 2,000 Catholic Church figures, including priests, religious brothers and sisters, and employees, were identified as alleged perpetrators in a report released to the inquiry.

The average age when children were allegedly abused was 10.5 years old for girls and 11.5 years old for boys.

The inquiry heard victims of the abuse at the hands of the Catholic clergy took an average of 33 years to disclose. 

• To contact CASA, located on the corner of Vale and Edwards streets, Sebastopol, call 5320 3933 or free call 24 hours 1800 806 292. Lifeline can be accessed on 13 11 14.

The story Almost one in ten Ballarat priests accused of child sex abuse, inquiry told first appeared on The Courier.