AUSTRALIA
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The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is continuing its hearings, into the discredited “Towards Healing” process – the Catholic Church’s mechanism for dealing with claims of abuse throughout Australia (except for Melbourne, which has its own process, “The Melbourne Response” set up by Cardinal George Pell).
It has heard of the abuse of Mrs. Joan Isaacs by priest, Frank Derriman, and the problems she encountered with the “Towards Healing” process (see last two days’ postings). There had been a heavy involvement from the church’s lawyers and insurers in the process, Evidence has pointed to the clear impression that the church was concerned with protecting its wealth, rather than helping victims, as the “Towards Healing” documentation had claimed.
The enquiry has heard from some of the people who operated the “Towards Healing” process. Evidence of incompetence and outright deception were revealed.
Kenneth Robertson, the former convenor of the Queensland professional standards office was the Towards Healing representative that Mrs. Isaacs first reached out to. Robertson said he did not think Mrs. Isaacs had received a just and compassionate outcome. “First of all [because of] the delay of two years which was absolutely nonsense. I don’t think that the negotiation with regards to the monetary outcome was handled well at all,” Robertson told the enquiry.
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