AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
December 19, 201
Aleisha Orr
Reporter, WA Today
Leaders of the Christian Brothers order failed to prevent sexual abuse of children living in four of its West Australian institutions, a report has found.
The report, compiled by the Royal Commission, found that in every decade between 1919 and the 1960s, the relevant Christian Brothers Provincial Council knew of allegations of sexual abuse around Australia – but that sexual abuse of children was viewed as, and referred to as, a ‘moral lapse’ or ‘weakness’.
Part of the commision’s report, Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, looks in to abuse that took place at Castledare Junior Orphanage, St Vincent’s Orphanage Clontarf, St Mary’s Agricultural School Tardun and Bindoon Farm School.
The report comes after a hearing in Perth earlier this year, where eleven men gave evidence and made allegations of sexual abuse against 16 named Brothers and told of physical and emotional abuse.
Realeased on Friday, the report found “the leadership of the Christian Brothers during the period 1947 to 1968 failed to manage each of the institutions, so as to prevent the sexual abuse of children living in those institutions”.
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