AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

Friday 30 March 2012

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, has issued a statement in response to an article in The Age newspaper (29/03/12) in which Father Tony Kerin, Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace, appeared to be supporting demands for a public inquiry into the Church’s handling of sex abuse by clergy.

Archbishop Hart pointed out that whether or not an inquiry is called is a matter for the State, not for the Church. He reaffirmed his position as stated in The Age on 15 March 2012 that the Melbourne Archdiocese has nothing to hide from an independent inquiry.

“I am confident that any inquiry into the Melbourne Response process would confirm this,” writes the Archbishop. “The Melbourne Response has functioned effectively since 1996.”

The Archbishop states that Father Kerin is not his “advisor on sexual abuse issues” as was reported.

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