AUSTRALIA
ABC News
ANALYSIS
By Paul Kennedy
In public, the Catholic Church has made promises of compassion to survivors of child sexual assault for decades.
Privately, however, it empowered lawyers to “strenuously” defend every Common Law claim brought against the institution.
“The way the church is treating us now is actually adding to the abuse we suffered when we were kids,” a survivor confided.
The church has built a ruthless reputation for its range of legal tactics, from stonewalling to counter-attack.
One of the worst known examples of intimidation occurred in the 1990s, when a long-suffering survivor sued the church for allowing a paedophile priest to work in several parishes, leading to horrendous crimes.
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