Child sexual abuse royal commission: Catholic Church paid victims $17m million
UPDATE: A FORMER Melbourne priest has claimed a global cover-up of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church was orchestrated by the Vatican.
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A FORMER Melbourne priest has claimed a global cover-up of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church was orchestrated by the Vatican.
Philip O’Donnell told the child abuse Royal Commission today church leaders in Rome would have issued strict instructions on how to deal with the scourge.
It comes as new figures today revealed the church had paid almost $17 million in compensation to 316 victims of child sexual abuse since 1980.
In that time 454 people have complained of being sexually abused by priests, religious, employees and volunteers within the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Eighty-eight per cent of complaints related to incidents between 1950 to 1989, while the 1970s was the worst decade of abuse.
Of the complaints, 316 resulted in monetary compensation with victims receiving, on average, about $52,000.
Mr O’Donnell, who is now married, said in Melbourne former Archbishop Frank Little was responsible for hiding abuse.
He said he was aware of Little ignoring complaints of abuse, failing to act on other incidents, and moving priests between parishes after they were accused of sexually abusing kids.
“I give him a 0 out of 10 for his handling of paedophilia,” he said of Little today.
“Frank would try everything not to cause a problem or a scandal. I think he had a misplaced loyalty to Rome.
“Rome pulled the strings and instructed various bishops around the world on how to handle the matter.”
Mr O’Donnell said after Little was told about now notorious priest Wilfred Baker regularly showering with a young boy, it took him months to act.
He vowed to move the priest to another parish, but took no action for five months while the new parish church was being built.
Mr O’Donnell said Archbishop Little hadn’t believed the allegations but reluctantly acted while Baker told him he was “only being a father to the boy”.
Baker was moved around Melbourne parishes with his congregations and authorities unaware of the accusations.
During the 60s and ‘70s he worked at parishes in Gladstone Park, East Brighton, Mordialloc, Doveton and Eltham.
The convicted paedophile was sentenced to four years’ jail in 1999 over 16 counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency, involving eight boys aged 10 to 13.
He had admitted taking some of his young victims to his parents’ home in Maryborough where he assaulted them.
Baker had befriended the boys’ parents, who allowed their children to go away for the weekend with the priest.
Baker was placed on administrative leave with his faculties withdrawn in 1997 and never again worked as a priest. He was laicised in September 2012 and died last year awaiting trial on new charges.
In her opening address counsel assisting Gail Furness, SC, said the inquiry would focus on the Archdiocese’s response to complaints from the 1980s to 1996.
In particular it will examine the role of the Archbishop as decision maker.
“As Bishop Emeritus Connors is expected to say: ‘There is no doubt that the culture of seniority and authority in the Church did not encourage questioning of the Archbishop’,” Ms Furness said.
It means Cardinal George Pell, who took over as Melbourne Archbishop in 1996, is unlikely to come under extended scrutiny during this inquiry.
Instead the probe looks set to focus on his predecessor Archbishop Little.
Cardinal Pell’s role as auxiliary bishop of Melbourne is expected to be probed with allegations a delegation met with him in 1989 to complain about Fr Peter Searson.
The inquiry heard Searson had been moved between parishes by Archbishop Little because of concerns about his conduct.
It included keeping a gun at school, animal cruelty, showing a body in a coffin to children and unnecessary physical and sexual contact with children.
In 1989 four representatives from the Holy Family Parish, in Doveton, met with Pell to discuss Searson’s conduct.
The inquiry heard evidence would show Bishop Pell passed the complaints to then Vicar General Monsignor Hilton Deakin, but nothing was done.
Eight priests will be the subject of the commission’s 35th inquiry including notorious paedophile Kevin O’Donnell.
The inquiry heard that the church became aware of concerns about O’Donnell in 1958, before a formal complaint was made to Frank Little in 1986.
He allegedly ignored a letter written to him by a nun who wrote to advise him that O’Donnell had been molesting a young boy.
The commission heard 56 people had made a complaint about O’Donnell, who is alleged to have abused kids at 25 institutions.
His victims have received more than $2 million in compensation Cardinal Pell’s knowledge of abuse cases is expected to come under heavy scrutiny next month when he returns to Melbourne to give evidence to the Commission.
He has been called to answer claims by victims that he ignored complaints of abuse and tried to bribe one victim not to speak out about being molested.