Abuse inquiry looks at priest training

Sky News
February 13, 2017

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2017/02/13/abuse-inquiry-looks-at-priest-training.html

The Catholic Church in Australia is moving to set up national standards to ensure priests are properly trained about child protection issues and receive ongoing personal and professional development.

The child sex abuse royal commission has heard the training many priests and religious brothers received historically was inadequate to prepare them for their vocation, and that they should have ongoing formation and supervision.

The church's Truth Justice and Healing Council says it is important for all priests and religious to participate in ongoing formation and continuous professional development, and be provided with ready access to appropriate support and supervision throughout their time in ministry.

'This is not presently as readily available, or utilised, as it should be,' the TJHC said in a submission to the royal commission.

It said ongoing education and formation programs had been ad hoc at best and flagged the introduction of compulsory child protection education.

'Moves are afoot to structure formation and support programs within agreed national frameworks for priests and religious,' its submission said.

'These frameworks would make church authorities responsible for ensuring their members are engaged in regular ongoing formation and are suitably trained in child protection matters and related legal obligations.'

The TJHC argues the selection, screening and training of priests and religious has changed markedly from the approach in place until the early 1990s.

'While there is always room for improvement, seminary curricula and the education of personnel in church authorities and church service organisations generally have advanced considerably.'

Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, said the commission's report into the extent of abuse by clergy was 'humiliating and harrowing'.

'We all feel that the priesthood has been demeaned, that people's trust has been broken, that confidence in us is understandably shaken,' he told the Sunday Telegraph.

'It really has hurt me and it has hurt a lot of priests and bishops, but that's tiny compared with how it's hurt the survivors.'

The royal commission will on Monday begin hearing evidence about the formation of clergy and religious and their professional support and supervision, as part of its wider inquiry into the reasons behind child sex abuse in the Catholic Church.