AUSTRALIA
ABC – Lateline
[with video]
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 12/11/2012
Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons
A victims support group has told a Victorian parliamentary inquiry that priests convicted of child sex offences are given lighter sentences than other offenders, and that no victims have been satisfied with the outcomes of the Catholic Church’s own complaints process.
Transcript
EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the sexual abuse of children by religious orders has been told paedophile priests get lighter sentences than other convicted sex offenders.
The comments were made a by a victims’ support group who also claimed no victims were satisfied with the outcomes of the Catholic Church’s own complaints process.
From Melbourne, Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.
HAMISH FITZSIMMONS, REPORTER: The Catholic Church has today been accused of failing to inform parents there were paedophile priests in their midst, a supporters group telling the inquiry parents and their children sometimes found out years later about the latent danger.
PAM KRSTIC, IN GOOD FAITH & ASSOCIATES: This information is vital to be given to parents of children who have been exposed to a paedophile. It could be the difference between life and death.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.