AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
MELBOURNE’s Catholic Church has paid almost $17 million in compensation to 316 victims of child sexual abuse since 1980, new figures have revealed.
In that time 454 people have complained of being sexually abused by priests, religious, employees and volunteers within the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Eighty-eight per cent of complaints related to incidents between 1950 to 1989, while the 1970s was the worst decade of abuse.
Of the complaints, 316 resulted in monetary compensation with victims receiving, on average, about $52,000.
The figures were revealed at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which is probing the Archdiocese’s handling of abuse cases.
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