AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM
[with audio]
Michael Vincent reported this story on Monday, November 26, 2012
TONY EASTLEY: The 42 members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference are meeting in Sydney to discuss the Church’s response to the national Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.
Submissions for the royal commission’s consultation period close today.
The head of the bishops conference and Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart says not only will they discuss the inquiry, they’ll also be talking about the Church’s own past responses to victims and allegations, including its Towards Healing doctrine.
And he says he wants a regime of mandatory reporting of abuse to police to be put in place.
Michael Vincent reports.
MICHAEL VINCENT: The most senior 42 men of the Catholic Church in Australia will today hear that the royal commission is a “wake up call”.
DENIS HART: I think there has been a lot of attention to the Catholic Church, admittedly, but we’ve got to face that squarely and we do so and we are committed to doing so.
MICHAEL VINCENT: President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart:
DENIS HART: I welcome the Royal Commission because it will enable these matters to be faced by all of us, it will enable the victims to tell their story, and it will enable us as Church and community together to really do our best to put in place regimes for the future that will really care for our children and avoid these awful events of which we’ve heard more recently.
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