AUSTRALIA
Courier-Mail
BY ANGUS LIVINGSTON AAP NOVEMBER 05, 2014
THE Catholic Church should pay for legal advice to pedophile priest victims seeking compensation, a victim’s father says.
A REVIEW of the Melbourne Response compensation scheme is under way after victims said it re-traumatised them and their capped payouts were too low.
The scheme was set up in 1996 to handle allegations of clergy sex abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese, but was criticised for protecting the interests of the church.
Anthony Foster, whose two daughters were raped by notorious abuser Father Kevin O’Donnell, said independent legal advice should have been available to all those who sought compensation.
“I think that given the scheme is run and managed by the very highly skilled, high-powered legal team on behalf of the archdiocese, victims should have access to legal advice right through that process,” Mr Foster told AAP on Wednesday.
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