THIRTY victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Melbourne last Friday asked the Victorian government to investigate the church's
handling of complaints, claiming it perverted the course of justice and
bullied victims.
Their 66-page letter to Attorney-General Robert Clark is
the third call for an independent public inquiry in three weeks.
Earlier last week, Sydney University law professor Patrick Parkinson asked the
government to look into the Salesian religious order and last month
barrister Vivian Waller sought an inquiry into the abuse in Ballarat
that has led to at least 26 suicides.
The latest call, by the Melbourne Victims' Collective,
claims that since the Melbourne Catholic archdiocese launched its own
complaints system in 1996, the Melbourne Response, it has suppressed
the reporting to police of serious crimes and bullied vulnerable
victims.
The letter says: ''Victims, professionals, members of the
church and wider community see these dynamics as an obstruction of
justice and/or breaches of ethical professional practice that require
urgent action. We are ready to submit documented evidence.''
Melbourne Victims' Collective spokeswoman and victims'
advocate Helen Last said: ''The church and its so-called independent
commissioner [Peter O'Callaghan, QC] has not reported serious sexual
offences by serial offenders and has failed to advise victims of the
seriousness of the assaults so they don't report them to police. If the
government doesn't take this on board and act responsibly, then they
will share responsibility for the next assault.''
The letter from the collective - which comprises more
than 30 victims, plus a dozen independent expert practitioners
including lawyers and psychologists - lists 110 clergy it says have
been convicted or credibly accused in Melbourne since 1963.
It claims
some abusers have remained in contact with communities and families,
with access to children and vulnerable adults.
The letter says the
collective's experience of abuse goes back to 1948, across the tenure of
five archbishops, and systemic abuses are more observable in the 15
years since the Melbourne Response was introduced.
It says if an accused church person denies abuse
occurred, the commissioner holds a hearing at which the victim is
''discouraged'' from bringing a lawyer. Supporters are also often
blocked so that victims are alone with the abuser and the commissioner,
arguing about their traumatic experiences.
Victims are further dissuaded
from going to police because when they do the church investigation
stops, making access to counselling and psychological help uncertain, it
says.
According to the collective's letter, police say the
commissioner has made no reports to them in the 15 years he has had the
role.
The letter also criticises the Melbourne Response's cap on
compensation at $75,000.
It says some victims have been offered just
$15,000 for repeated molestation as a child, or $10,000 for repeated
adult sexual abuse.
Archbishop Denis Hart has defended the church's
Melbourne Response system.
The archdiocese has previously replied to
such criticisms by saying victims are always encouraged to report their
complaints to the police and that the independent commissioner fully
co-operates with police investigations, but sometimes complainants do
not want to go to the police.