AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)
David Marr
theguardian.com, Wednesday 13 November 2013
The Catholic church will not go quietly. True, the archbishops of both Melbourne and Sydney have welcomed the Victorian report into clerical sex abuse. But they signalled at the same time that despite everything the church is still fighting to defend its patch.
Tears and ovations greeted the tabling of the report in the Legislative Council on Wednesday. “The words from the politicians just rang in my heart,” Chrissie Foster told Guardian Australia. “There they were saying what I’d wanted to say for so long and they have the power to change things. It was astounding.”
The Fosters’ two daughters were raped by their parish priest. One killed herself. The other is now permanently disabled. The implacable dignity and determination of the Fosters is one reason we were all in the council chamber on Wednesday morning: victims, advocates and journalists in the galleries above. Politicians below.
“We need to have the government behind us,” said Foster, “because we have been at the mercy of another power, the Catholic church which has been heartless and relentless. Suddenly there is another power that is fighting for us. It was wonderful.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.