THE Victorian government has come under fire for ordering a parliamentary inquiry to investigate child sex abuse by the clergy, rather than a royal commission.
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Convicted former priests Gerald Ridsdale, Bryan Coffey and Paul Ryan and former CBC brother Robert Best all served in the south-west. Victims from the region are among those who committed suicide because of Catholic clergy sexual abuse.
There are concerns a royal commission would have had a better chance of getting to the bottom of the issue than a six-member committee of inexperienced politicians working part-time.
The inquiry, announced by Premier Ted Baillieu yesterday following revelations that at least 40 victims of the Catholic clergy had committed suicide, is to be conducted by State Parliament’s existing Family and Community Development Committee. “We regard child abuse as abhorrent and we will endeavour to do whatever we can to prevent it from happening and indeed bring those who are perpetrators of child abuse to justice,” Mr Baillieu told reporters.
“The pain of victims has gone on for too long.”
One of the inquiry’s main lines of investigation will be into the handling of accusations against organisations dealing with children, including the Catholic Church.
Melbourne’s Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart has denied the church covered up sexual abuse by its clergy and said the archdiocese had nothing to hide from the inquiry.
Broken Rites volunteer Wayne Chamley said he was disappointed the government had not set up a royal commission to investigate both proven cases and allegations of sexual abuse. “It’s very disappointing that a parliamentary inquiry is not going to have the teeth to get to the bottom of what has been going on for the last 40 years at least,” Mr Chamley said.
Attorney-General Robert Clark said a parliamentary inquiry would be less intrusive and legalistic than a royal commission and enable victims to feel more comfortable.
The committee would have the power to compel witnesses to give evidence and produce documents, at risk of being in contempt of Parliament.
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews welcomed the inquiry but said it would be better run by someone not involved in Victorian politics.
Nicky Davis, president of Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests, congratulated the government for being the first in Australia ‘’to take the plight of victims of Catholic Church-enabled child rape seriously’’.
Lawyer Vivian Waller, who represents 45 victims suing the church, said a royal commission or judicial inquiry would have been better.
Ms Waller said she hoped the archdiocese of Melbourne would be compelled to reveal how many complaints it had received and how they were handled.
Welcoming the inquiry, Archbishop Hart said he was confident it would “clear the air around this painful and distressing issue of sexual abuse in Victoria”.
Melbourne’s Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier said the diocese would also co-operate fully.
The inquiry will examine the policies of religious and other non-government organisations relating to allegations of criminal abuse of children.
It is required to report to Parliament by April 30 next year.
Police last week said their report linking the suicides to sexual abuse by Catholic clergymen would be passed on to the Victorian coroner for further investigation.
Warrnambool’s Detective Senior Constable Colin Ryan was involved with charging former priests Bryan Coffey and Paul Ryan who served in south-west parishes, The Standard reported on Saturday.
“During the course of the investigations I, like Kevin Carson, identified victims of those priests whom I believe committed suicide as a result of the priests’ actions,” Detective Senior Constable Ryan said.
“Families of the victims would welcome any new inquiry into the Catholic Church’s handling of the matters. It was very evident and clearly shown that the hierarchy of the church moved Coffey, Ryan and Ridsdale from parish to parish because of their offending.”
One suicide victim, Peter Watson, was haunted to his death by the actions of local parish priest Father Paul David Ryan who had invited some boys to an evening of cars, a blue movie and alcohol. Court evidence later revealed the priest had sexually abused the boys at the Ararat Catholic presbytery when Mr Watson was 15
AAP and the Age
*Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
