PERTH (AUSTRALIA)
The West Australian
February 16, 2018
By Kim Macdonald
The Catholic Archbishop of Perth has called for Lent to be dedicated to victims of child abuse, slamming the church for its “dark and sordid past” and the “devastating failure” of some clergy over the matter.
In a pastoral letter this week, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe called on Catholics to set aside the first four days of Lentas a time of fasting and reparation for child sex abuse and for the healing of its victims. He called for Sunday, March 11, to be a special remembrance day.
Archbishop Costelloe said the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had shone a “blinding light into the dark places of the Church”.
“It has enabled us to realise the terrible burden so many have had to bear — and still bear — because of the devastating failures of some clergy, religious and other Church personnel and the often grossly inadequate response of some of our leaders to this shocking betrayal of trust,” he said.
“Notwithstanding the good work the Church has done and continues to do for so many people, we now know that the Church in Australia has had a dark and sordid side.
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