AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Monday 23 November 2015
More than 450 people made claims and substantiated complaints of child sexual abuse against priests, religious employees and volunteers working within the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne between January 1980 and February 2015, it has been revealed.
The child sexual abuse royal commission made the data public for the first time as its 35th case study began before Victoria’s county court on Tuesday, which is focusing on the conduct of eight priests within the archdiocese.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Gail Furness, said in her opening address the data was the result of a comprehensive survey of all Catholic church authorities in Australia.
The survey revealed that when taking into account treatment, legal and other costs, the church paid $16.8m to 316 of the 454 victims at an average of about $52,000 each claimant, either from a civil claim or through the Melbourne Response, which was the internal method of handling sexual abuse cases by the archdiocese.
Over the next two weeks in Melbourne, the commission’s hearings will focus on the conduct and abuse at the hands of priests Nazareno Fasciale, Kevin O’Donnell, Ronald Pickering, Wilfred Baker, Peter Searson, David Daniel, Desmond Gannon and Barry Robinson.
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