AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times
November 14, 2012
Jack Waterford
The religious institutions have largely passed through the gauntlets that are child abuse investigations. Government has yet to do so.
The Catholic Church is inevitably the main target of the inquiry into sexual abuse of children. It pretty much deserves what it has had so far, and what it will get, but my bet is that it will emerge from the long inquisition ahead in far better shape than some of the other institutions under scrutiny, including government itself. This inquiry could be a big own goal.
Julia Gillard has yet to settle the terms of reference for the commission, but she has already made it clear that it will extend beyond the Catholic Church to other religious and civic bodies, and possibly schools, which have been given the charge of children. That was the condition on which Tony Abbott, and to an extent Catholic prelates, agreed to manifest a faint enthusiasm for the project.
The inquiry could take ages, every now and again sending a great fizz of sparks across the political horizon. Some will come from accounts of abuse – in orphanages, schools and other children’s institutions. Some will be from amazement at some of those who engaged in abuse, and at their brazenness.
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