AUSTRALIA
ABC News
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, says the cultural changes of the 1960s and 1970s were a major factor in the large number of child sex offenders within the church.
The Archbishop was speaking at a special diocesan leadership luncheon today as a follow-up to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into institutionalised child abuse.
Citing research conducted in the United States, Archbishop Hart said a number of organisational, psychological and situational factors led to a high rate of offending amongst priests ordained prior to the 1970’s.
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