AUSTRALIA
ABC News
As Newcastle’s Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson urges his diocese to come to terms with the church’s handling of child sexual abuse, he has admitted that he too was a victim.
Members of the Synod took part in an historic vote at the weekend, making a formal apology from the Newcastle Diocese, acknowledging it actively discouraged those who reported abuse.
Synod members watched video interviews of two Newcastle priests recounting harrowing stories of their own experience of being sexually abused as children.
Earlier this year, Bishop Thompson marked 500 days in the top job, fighting tears as he apologised to victims for past church cover-ups and the poor handling of complaints about child sexual abuse.
This morning Bishop Thompson revealed to 1233 ABC Newcastle’s Aaron Kearney he has been making his own journey as a survivor.
“Well, I’m both a Bishop, but also a survivor,” he said.
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