‘Betrayal of Trust’

‘Betrayal of Trust’ is the title of the report released this week in Australia as a result of a parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations.  The report is the first of several inquiries into child sexual abuse in Australia, by a Victorian Parliamentary Committee.

“Children were betrayed by trusted figures in organisations of high standing and suffered unimaginable harm,”

“Parents of these children experienced a betrayal beyond comprehension. And the community was betrayed by the failure of organisations to protect children in their care.”

The report’s criticism of the Catholic church is unsparing. Its recommendations are radical. If adopted they would strip the Catholic church of its virtual immunity in the courts and compel religious leaders of all faiths to report child abuse to the police.

The Guardian 13/11/13

Their 678-page report, Betrayal of Trust, paints a picture of a powerful institution riddled with abuse and determined to handle both abusers and victims as far as possible without interference from the state. Nothing like it has been published before in this country.

Its conclusions are plain and devastating: “No representative of the Catholic church directly reported the criminal conduct of its members to the police. The committee found that there is simply no justification for this position.”

The church is condemned in the report for sidelining the courts as well as the police. The committee expressed “great concern” at the church’s use of highly technical legal strategies to prevent victims taking their cases to court.

The Guardian 14/11/13

The Metropolitan Police’s paedophile unit is currently investigating the abuse of children in schools run by the Salesian Catholic order as part of Operation Torva.   Anyone who wants to contact the police about Operation Torva should dial 101.  Anyone who would prefer to call somebody other than the police can contact the Lantern Project on 0151 630 6956 or NAPAC on 0800 085 3330.

An open letter to MPs calling for the Department of Education to order a public inquiry into child safeguarding failures in the Roman Catholic church and church of England, and for the inquiry to make recommendations for improvements, can be found at stopchurchchildabuse.co.uk

Ex Pope: ‘Priests Not More Likely To Abuse Children.’

“Nor is it reassuring to know that, according to the research of sociologists, the percentage of priests are guilty of these crimes is not higher than that found in other similar professions.”

I’m guessing this is research by socialogist especially commissioned by The Vatican.

What is a similar profession ? Anglican Priest ? Scout leader ? Rabbi ?

“No”, they say,” priests are not more likely to offend. They’re just more likely get caught out and that despite the oaths of silence that we force their victims to swear!”

*Cough! Cough!*

In the issues discussed so far it is a serious dialogue, for which I – as I have said repeatedly – I am grateful. The situation is different in the chapter on the priest and Catholic morality, and by still another in the chapters on Jesus As for what you say moral abuse of minors by priests, I can – as you know – just take note with deep concern . I have never tried to hide these things. That the power of evil penetrate to such an extent in the inner world of faith is for us a suffering which, on the one hand, we have to endure, while, on the other, we must at the same time, do everything possible to ensure that such cases do not repeated. Nor is it reassuring to know that, according to the research of sociologists, the percentage of priests are guilty of these crimes is not higher than that found in other similar professions. In any case, you should not submit this deviation ostentatiously as if it were a specific filth of Catholicism.

La Repubblica

Ex Pope Denies Child Abuse Cover-Up

Of course, he’s now holed up in a palace in Vatican City with immunity from prosecution…

Is there anyone who believes him ?

Incense or Sulphur ?

Former Pope Benedict has denied that he tried to cover up sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests, in his first direct published comments since he stepped down.

The comments came in an 11-page letter to Italian author and mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi, who wrote a book about the problems facing the Roman Catholic church before the pope resigned in February.

“As far as you mentioning the moral abuse of minors by priests I can only, as you know, acknowledge it with profound consternation. But I never tried to cover up these things,” Benedict, who now has the title emeritus pope, said.

Excerpts of Benedict’s letter were published in La Repubblica on Tuesday with the former pope’s permission.

The Guardian

Op Torva: The International Salesian Network

On the 25th of May 2013 it was announced that the Metropolitan Police Paedophile Unit had secretly begun a new child abuse investigation called Operation Torva relating to institutions run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Order.

Over the last two weeks the Met Police Child Abuse Investigation Command  has been  secretly running a new investigation into alleged child abuse involving former schoolboys who went to primary and secondary  schools run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Order in England and Scotland.

Some 23 alleged victims have already contacted in one of the biggest operations since Operation Yewtree  which involved  Jimmy Savile and Operation Fernbridge investigation into sexual abuse at Elm Guest House in Barnes – including tracing people who had left the country for Thailand.

The full story is revealed today in The People and Exaro News. It is known to involve at least 30 victims and 20 priests and teachers, some of whom are now dead, and stretching back some 50 years. Some of the figures were prominent members of the Order which was set up in London in the late nineteenth century and now stretches world-wide.

David Hencke’s Blog

However, allegations against members of the Salesian Order should be looked at in a broader international context, as this short film by the Australian ABC’s FourCorners program demonstrates.

 [edit] Dear Tom, let me apologise if your face appearing is a shock. I’ve simply embedded the video and I have no control over the image that is shown. I can’t apologise directly without signing up and so I hope you see this apology or someone tells you about it.