According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald (27th June 2008) the private psychiatric clinic established by the catholic church in Australia for the treatment and assessment of clergy who admit to being abusers is to close. According to the article, Encompass Australasia who run it claims there is insufficient demand for the clinic’s services.Is this good news in that clergy abuse is on the wane, or is it bad news in that this, in what must be accepted to be, deep seated problem is still not being adequately addressed?For more on this story I suggest you log on to the Herald’s website: www.smh.com.au
Alan Collins
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Foillowing on from the above I see reported in the Australian media (10th July 2008) allegations of a cover-up on the part of the Catholic Church:
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has referred rape allegations against former priest Terence Goodall to an independent panel.
Cardinal Pell has re-opened investigations into Father Goodall after phone taps recorded the convicted priest saying a sexual encounter with his adult victim Anthony Jones was not consensual, as he first claimed.
In 2003, Cardinal George Pell dismissed a sex abuse complaint against Father Goodall, because he gave weight to the priest’s claim the encounter was consensual.
Cardinal Pell dismissed Anthony Jones’ complaint despite Mr Jones’ protestations to the contrary.
However, in 2003 police phone transcripts - played on ABC Television Father Goodall admitted to Mr Jones that the encounter was not consensual.
The reports say Mr Jones, now 54, was sexually abused by Father Goodall in 1982 and informed the church about it 20 years later.
In 2005, Father Goodall was convicted of indecently assaulting Mr Jones after pleading guilty to the charges, but served no time in prison.
Dr Pell has now referred the rape allegations to an independent panel. The Catholic Church said:
“Although the complaints of Mr Anthony Jones have been dealt with by the Church, the criminal court and the civil court, out of consideration for Mr Jones, Cardinal George Pell has formally referred the matters raised this week to an independent consultative panel established under Towards Healing protocols”
“The panel, which is chaired by retired NSW Supreme Court judge Bill Priestley QC, has been asked to advise Cardinal Pell on the options open to him.
“It consists of prominent lay people from the fields of law, business, and psychiatry, as well as a senior priest.”
The panel would report back as soon as possible, the church said.
Cardinal Pell has become embroiled in the Goodall sex abuse scandal just days before Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the country for World Youth Day.
Letters obtained by the ABC and aired on Monday showed Cardinal Pell told Mr Jones that his complaint could not be upheld because the church was not aware of any other complaints against the priest.
But another letter showed Cardinal Pell was aware of a second allegation of sexual abuse against Father Goodall.
It was also revealed that an internal church report found Father Goodall had had sexual encounters with a 16-year-old female, as well as Mr Jones and the other young male complainant.
Cardinal Pell earlier this week said he got his decision wrong and had expressed himself poorly in the letter to Mr Jones.
For more on this report I suggest you visit The Australian’s website: www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
or The Age at: www.theage.com.au/
Tags: Catholic church, church, clergy abuse, sexual abuse