ROME
Herald Sun
Charles Miranda in Rome
CLERGY abuse survivor Peter Blenkiron wore a T-shirt as he arrived in Rome, emblazoned with the face of a smiling toothy 11-year-old boy full of life, dreams and promise.
“That was me as a child, when he got me, I looked like that,” the now 53-year-old said haltingly as if still sensing a monster lurking close.
He was abused at St Patrick’s Secondary School in Ballarat each time he could not finish homework and was made to complete it in the room of Christian Brother and now convicted paedophile Edward Dowlan.
He said he came to Rome today to bear witness and keep other children safe.
He said he now had two children of his own, aged 8 and 10, and hoped they and other children would be kept safe with changes to laws, notably within the Church.
He says he bore no malice against the church and was thankful the royal commission was seeking out the truth of those in charge.
“I was born a Catholic and I know some good Catholic people and I’m friends with good Catholic people, I just struggle with the whole institution,” he said.
“I believe there is a God by many different names and I find solace in meditation which is a form or prayer. But I’m hoping George Pell finally … says he does remember and not like all the bishops and other clergy in Australia that have said ‘I can’t recall, I can’t remember I don’t know the details’.”
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