AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Nicole Asher
The Australian Catholic Church has confirmed more than $200,000 has been paid to victims of sex abuse perpetrated by priests ministering in the Diocese of Sale, in eastern Victoria.
The church has released data as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, showing the proportion of priests in the Sale Diocese accused of child sex crimes between 1950 and 2010 was double the national average.
In the 60 years to 2010, 15.1 per cent of priests in the Sale Diocese were accused of child sex abuse, compared to 7 per cent of priests nationally.
The Sale Diocese had the highest percentage of priests subject to abuse allegations in Australia, followed by the Diocese of Sandhurst, which includes Bendigo, with 14.7 per cent.
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