AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Dan Box
September 03, 2012
THE Catholic Church has received at least 1500 complaints of abuse by priests across Australia, about a third of which are thought to relate to alleged child abuse.
The number, revealed in separate statements made this year by the archbishops of Sydney and Melbourne, is almost certainly an underestimate, as the church says it is unable to provide an accurate national figure.
About two-thirds of these complaints were made in NSW, under the Towards Healing program established in 1996, with most of the rest made under its Victorian equivalent, the Melbourne Response.
Many of those who have been through these processes, however, describe being “re-traumatised” or “re-abused” by the experience.
One victim of pedophile abuse by a priest criticised a lack of independence, saying complainants were “reintroduced to the same environment they experienced in childhood”.
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