AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM
Geoff Thompson reported this story on Monday, July 2, 2012
MARK COLVIN: “It would have been no different if he had taken a gun and shot him, it just took longer.”
Those are the words of a relative of a child abused by a Catholic priest who’s one of the subjects of tonight’s Four Corners on ABC TV.
It uncovers a shocking case of abuse involving many children, committed over several years. Perhaps the most alarming revelation is the fact that the Church turned a blind eye to the priest’s crimes. He was allowed to move from parish to parish, apparently without alerting the police.
The story’s reporter, Geoff Thompson, told me first about extensive recent research on the appalling effects of abuse on the victims.
GEOFF THOMPSON: There was a study done in 2010 through Monash University which found that victims of child sexual assault are 18 times more likely to commit suicide and 50 times more likely to die of an accidental drug overdose.
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