Archbishops Told That Victims Thought ‘God’s Representative’ Abused Them

AUSTRALIA
Huffington Post

Eoin Blackwell Senior Associate Editor, HuffPost Australia

Survivors of sex abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy thought they were being abused by “a representative of God,” a Royal commission has heard.

Five archbishops from around the country are giving evidence at the sex abuse Royal Commission in Sydney about how the Catholic church responded to decades of sexual abuse against children in its care.

During an at-times philosophical and theological discussion on Friday, commissioner Andrew Murray reminded those listening what the hearings were about.

“We have been told in private sessions that at the moments of abuse, that the child at the time… thought they were being abused by the representative of God, so it has immense and immediate meaning with respect to child sex abuse,” Murray said.

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