Royal Commission into child sex abuse reveals Port Pirie had one of highest rates of abusive Catholic priests
THE Catholic Church diocese of Port Pirie had one of Australia’s highest rates of alleged child-abusing priests over a 60-year period, disturbing new figures have revealed.
THE Catholic Church diocese of Port Pirie had one of Australia’s highest rates of alleged child-abusing priests over a 60-year period, disturbing new figures have revealed.
The Royal Commission into Institutionalised Responses to Child Sexual Abuse yesterday released the vile extent of systematic sexual exploitation committed by 1880 perpetrators across Australia, representing seven per cent of priests from 1950 to 2010.
In a survey of 10 religious institutes and 75 church authorities, the diocese of Sale in Victoria was listed as the worst with 15.1 per cent of its priests accused of abuse, with Port Pirie ranked third with 14.1 per cent.
In contrast, the Diocese of Adelaide had one of the lowest reports of abusers within the church at 2.2 per cent, with a total of 222 cases of reported abuse over six decades.
The chief executive of the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council held back tears as he spoke about the implications of the figures.
“These numbers are shocking. They are tragic and they are indefensible,” Francis Sullivan told the royal commission.
Commission research showed 4444 people had made allegations of abuse to 93 Catholic authorities between 1980 and 2015.
“This data, along with all we have heard over the past four years, can only be interpreted for what it is: a massive failure on the part the Catholic Church in Australia to protect children from abusers and predators, a misguided determination by leaders at the time to put the interests of the church ahead of the most vulnerable and a corruption of the Gospel the church seeks to profess,” Mr Sullivan said.
“As Catholics, we hang our heads in shame.”
Ninety per cent of the alleged offenders were men — with the highest number acting as religious brothers, followed by priests and lay people associated with the church.
Ninety per cent of the victims were boys, with their average age at the time of abuse being 11-and-a-half years old. Girls were only 10-and-a-half years old on average when they were abused.
The figures were revealed by Senior Counsel Assisting, Gail Furness, SC. The report compiled data from a survey of 75 Catholic Church authorities — with priest members — and 10 Catholic orders whose members are religious brothers and sisters. The St John of God Brothers had the highest proportion of religious brothers who were classed as alleged perpetrators (40.4 per cent) followed by Christian Brothers (22 per cent), Salesians of Don Bosco (21.9 per cent) and Marist Brothers (20.4 per cent).
The highest proportion of alleged perpetrators who were priests who came from the Benedictine Community of New Norcia in WA (21.5 per cent) along with the Salesians of Don Bosco in Victoria (17.2 per cent) and Marist Fathers in NSW (13.9 per cent).
Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is contesting criminal charges that he concealed child sexual abuse perpetrated by paedophile priest Jim Fletcher in NSW in the 1970s.
The Archbishop, who is the most senior Catholic figure in the world to face such a charge, has made several failed attempts to halt the prosecution.
A brief of evidence compiled by sex abuse detectives investigating claims levelled at Cardinal George Pell has been returned to prosecutors for review. The brief of has been sent back to the Office of Public Prosecutions for review after director John Champion returned it last year without recommendations.