AUSTRALIA
Reuters
Seven percent of Catholic priests working in Australia between 1950 and 2010 were accused of child sex crimes, but few were pursued, data from Australian church authorities showed on Monday, as hearings began over allegations dating back decades.
Last year, Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell said the church had made “enormous mistakes” and “catastrophic” choices by refusing to believe abused children, shuffling abusive priests from parish to parish and over-relying on counselling of priests to solve the problem.
Monday’s data, seen as the most substantial to detail the extent of child sex abuse in the church, were compiled with the cooperation of the church as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Francis Sullivan, chief executive of the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, said 1,265 Catholic priests and religious brothers had been accused between 1950 and 2010.
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