AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Giselle Wakatama
Dozens of suicides, allegedly linked to abuse by several Hunter Valley priests, has prompted the formation of a group that is calling for an in-depth probe by the Royal Commission.
Scores of Hunter Valley men and women suffered abuse at the hands of the region’s priests, and more than a dozen clergy and lay people have been charged with around 500 offences.
It has resulted in several convictions and hefty jail sentences.
The abuse prompted a Special Commission of Inquiry into two dead paedophile Catholic priests from the Hunter Valley, with it recommending one senior church official be prosecuted.
The toll it has taken on families is not lost on child abuse advocates, who have repeatedly raised concerns about a mass number of suicides of people who allegedly suffered abuse.
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