AUSTRALIA
The Tablet
December 5, 2017
By Mark Brolly
‘The damaged credibility of the Church because of the abuse scandal affects all Catholics’
Church revealed for all its ‘hypocrisy and self-interest, says Australian abuse council head
Francis Sullivan, the chief executive of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council that was set up to coordinate the Catholic Church’s response to the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse, has said the Church “has scandalised the faithful and those who rely on it as a moral compass and prudent guide”.
He made the statement in his regular blog, after speaking to the Australian bishops’ plenary meeting in Sydney last week. The Royal Commission’s final report, to be delivered on 15 December, will make recommendations that aim to support and inform the Australian government, institutions and the general public in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse in institutional contexts.
In the blog Mr Sullivan said the Council was charged to operate for the “life of the Royal Commission”. “That time is rapidly running out,” he said. “As part of our advisory role we will provide the church leadership with our own take on what these last five years have revealed and what the implications for the Church are contained within the Commission’s findings and recommendations.”
However, before the report is released he had a harsh message for bishops and religious leaders. They must commit he said to a future that is not characterised by a “business as usual” mentality. “They cannot fall prey to those reactionary interests within and without the Church who jump at any shadow and too quickly cast any public criticism of the Church as yet another shot across the bow of religious freedom,” he warned.
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