BALLARAT (AUSTRALIA)
The Courier

December 17, 2017

By Michelle Smith

The very visible sign of Ballarat’s child sexual abuse history – the fluttering ribbons of the Loud Fence of St Patrick’s Cathedral – have been removed and placed in a reflection garden in the church grounds.

On Sunday, about 60 parishioners removed the hundreds of ribbons that survivors had placed there from the early days of the Royal Commission hearings in to child sexual abuse in the Ballarat diocese.

The removal of the ribbons drew mixed reactions from survivors and families, as did their placement in a glass-topped chest.

A lack of consultation about the process and timing of the ribbon removal, just days after the Royal Commission in to Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse handed down its final recommendations, also angered many.

Sexual abuse survivor Phil Nagle said the ribbons belonged on the fence, and said survivors…