AUSTRALIA
NT News
MEGAN NEIL AAP DECEMBER 07, 2015
VICTIMS of widespread child sex abuse by clergy in the Ballarat diocese hope a royal commission will bring out the truth, a victims’ advocate says.
THE child abuse royal commission’s inquiry into Catholic Church authorities’ handling of decades of abuse in the Victorian regional diocese resumes on Monday.
Lawyer Judy Courtin, who has worked with Ballarat victims, says the public hearing will be traumatic for abuse survivors but is a necessary step towards getting justice.
“They want the truth to be told about the cover-up and concealment,” Dr Courtin said.
The inquiry’s first stage in Ballarat in May heard as many as 14 priests have been found to have sexually abused children in the Ballarat diocese.
There have been at least 130 claims and substantiated complaints against the Ballarat diocese since 1980, mostly against pedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.