Child abuse royal commission concludes with 17 volume report presented to Governor-General
THE five-year inquiry into child abuse has recommended Australian bishops should ask the Pope to consider voluntary celibacy for diocesan clergy. See the key recommendations.
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THE Catholic Church has rejected key recommendations by the child abuse royal commission that would force it to turn its back on centuries of tradition.
Among 189 recommendations in the final report of the Royal Commission into Instituional Responses to Child Sexual Assault, published today, 58 were directed at religious institutions.
They included recommendations that the Catholic Church introduce voluntary celibacy and new laws that would require priests to report abuse told to them during confession.
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Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the seal of confession was non negotiable and could never be broken.
He also rejected the idea of voluntary celibacy but said the recommendations would be put to the Holy See for consideration.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said changing rules around confession would not prevent future child sex abuse.
“Killing off confession is not going to help anybody,” he said.
“This Catholic and Orthodox practice is always entirely confidential and I think any proposal to effectively stop the practice of confession in Australia would be a real hurt to all Catholics and Orthodox Christians and I don’t think would help any young person.
“If young people are to be kept safe, focusing on something like confession is just a distraction.”
He also rejected the idea of voluntary celibacy.
“We know very well that institutions who have celibate clergy and institutions that don’t have celibate clergy both face this problem ... It is an issue for everyone, celibate or not.”
The commission made more recommendations to the Catholic Church than any other religious body after finding the greatest number of alleged perpetrators and abused children were in Catholic institutions.
It also called on laws that prohibit some Orthodox Jews from reporting abuse.
The final report was delivered to Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove today before it was tabled in parliament and made available online.
It has called on a national strategy to combat future child sex abuse.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced he would establish a taskforce to consider and co-ordinate action on the recommendations and track the progress made by all Australian governments.
The taskforce will operate for two years from January with the government set to respond in full to the recommendations next year.
Mr Turnbull also announced a $52.1 million package for victims to access redress from a national scheme.
The commission’s 189 recommendations bring to 409 the total number it has made.
Among them the commission has called for the establishment of a National Office for Child Safety, a new federal minister responsible for mitigating risks of abuse, and a national website to report child abuse.
It also wants abusers stripped of any honours and a national memorial to recognise the tens of thousands of children sexually abused in more than 4000 Australian institutions.
“The Final Report tells the story of institutional child sexual abuse in Australia, and provides recommendations to shape a safer future for children,” commission CEO Phillip Reed said.
“We have now completed our work. It’s up to governments and institutions to take the next steps and implement the Royal Commission’s recommendations.”
Prefacing the 17 volume final report the commission said the recommendations were key to ensuring the future safety of all children.
“We must each resolve that we will do what we can to protect them,” it said.
“It is now apparent that across many decades, many of society’s institutions failed our children.
Although the primary responsibility for the sexual abuse of a child lies with the abuser and the institution of which they were part, we cannot avoid the conclusion that the problems faced by many people who have been abused are the responsibility of our entire society.”
The report called for the continuing development of effective government regulation, improvement in institutional governance and increased community awareness of child sexual abuse in institutions.
“There is also a need for community education on risks to children. We must also develop our understanding of the needs of those who have been abused and be prepared to respond to those needs,” it said.
Breaking: Turnbull Government announces $52m to support child abuse victims through redress process, new taskforce to deal with @CARoyalComm recommendations, and @HumanHeadline to chair parliamentary committee. @theheraldsun #auspol
— Tom Minear (@tminear) December 15, 2017
Estimated total expenditure for the five year commission has been set at $342.3 million, more than $30 million under budget.
The commission heard from thousands of abuse survivors and made more than 2,500 referrals to authorities including police.
More than 4000 individual institutions were reported to the royal commission as places where abuse occurred, with tens of thousands of victims.
On this historic day, my personal thanks go to the Royal Commissioners and all who supported their work. Our nation is indebted to you and to the survivors who fought so hard for justice and a safer future for our children. JG
— Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) December 15, 2017
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
— A new federal minister responsible for mitigating risks of abuse, and working with states and territories to keep children safe.
— A new national framework for child safety by 2020.
— A new national office for child safety, within the department of prime minister and cabinet.
— Australia-wide laws requiring all adults to report known or suspected child abuse in religious and other institutions.
— Failure to report should be a criminal offence.
— The laws will cover clergy who fail to report abuse admissions made during religious confession.
— The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference should ask the Holy See to consider introducing voluntary celibacy for diocesan clergy.
— A new national website and helpline to report child abuse
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