AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
Archbishop Denis Hart regrets hurt caused by identical apology letters to clergy abuse victims
PADRAIC MURPHY HERALD SUN AUGUST 26, 2014
THE Catholic Church sent victims of clergy sexual abuse almost identical apology form letters drafted by lawyers, the sex abuse Royal Commission has heard.
The letters — which were almost identical other than the names of the victim and the offending priest — were sent for more than a decade and signed at first by former Melbourne Archbishop George Pell and then his successor, Archbishop Denis Hart.
Each of the letters purported to be heartfelt apologies from the Archbishop, but were in fact prepared by staff in consultation with lawyers. Under cross examination, Archbishop Hart said he regretted hurt caused by the letters and said he had taken steps in the past year to ensure the letters were now more personal.
“The letters were very similar. It was never indicated to me that this was unhelpful,” Archbishop Hart said.
The state’s most senior Catholic admitted celibacy was difficult to cope with for some priests, but defended the practice.
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.