AUSTRALIA
Sky News
The director of the Catholic Church’s professional standards office has told a national abuse inquiry that church-appointed facilitators in abuse cases act in the interests of the victim.
Michael Salmon, who heads the office in NSW and the ACT, has come under intense questioning at a Sydney hearing about the application of the church’s Towards Healing protocol – an internal process that abuse complainants can opt to engage in.
Mr Salmon was the facilitator in two cases that have been considered by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
In a hearing that opened in December, the commission heard that the application of Towards Healing varied widely and some abuse victims found it legalistic and intimidating.
It has also emerged that compensation payouts varied widely and were heavily influenced by Catholic Church insurers.
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