AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

February 21, 2016

Michael Short
Journalist

A few months ago, I caught up for lunch with lawyer Judy Courtin, one of the staunchest advocates for the victims of the rape and sexual abuse of children and vulnerable others by, in particular, Catholic priests, and one of the people instrumental in the successful campaign to establish the royal commission into the response of churches and other institutions to these crimes. She did her PhD on the issue, was a guest of mine in 2012 in the advocacy column I have written for the past six years, The Zone, and is now representing victims at the commission.
In an eerie coincidence, when I returned from lunch to my desk, there was a joint email from the headmaster and chairman of the board of Ballarat and Queen’s Anglican Grammar School, which I attended for the final…