‘Catastrophic’ failures of Ballarat diocese led to widespread abuse

A desire to protect the Catholic Church’s reputation led to an ‘extraordinary failure’ to protect children in the Ballarat diocese.

Ballarat abuse victim Paul Auchettl says the release of the commission’s report represents the tip of the iceberg.Picture: Aaron Francis

A desire to avoid scandal and protect the Catholic Church’s reputation led to an “extraordinary failure” to protect children in the Ballarat diocese, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse has found.

In its report handed down yesterday, the commission said the diocese had failed to respond adequately to allegations and complaints about the child sexual abuse by clergy over the course of at least three decades.

“The response primarily revealed a desire to prevent or minimise the risk of scandal and to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church,” it found.

“It also revealed a tendency by Bishop (Ronald) Mulkearns and other clergy to treat complaints or allegations dismissively and in favour of the priest who was the subject of the allegation.”

The commission had heard evidence about the extensive abuse from survivors, offenders, Christian Brothers and clergy, including the deceased former bishop Mulkearns and Cardinal George Pell, who served as a priest in the diocese.

The commission found offending priests, including Australia’s most notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, were often moved between parishes after allegations arose.

“Untrue or misleading reasons for the priest’s departure were given to the old parish, and no warning was given to the new parish,” the report said.

“Often, more allegations against the priest emerged in the new parish ... There was a catastrophic institutional failure which resulted in many children being sexually abused.”

Ridsdale abused Paul Levey when he was sent to stay with him as a child at the Mortlake presbytery in 1982. The commission said Bishop Mulkearns knew by this time that Ridsdale had offended against boys and it was “inconceivable” that he wouldn’t have realised there was at least a risk that Mr Levey would be sexually abused by Ridsdale.

“Ridsdale had admitted offending against children to Bishop Mulkearns in 1976,” it said. “Bishop Mulkearns did nothing effective to restrict Ridsdale’s access to children until over 20 years later. We do not know how many boys and girls were sexually abused by Ridsdale over that time.”

The commission found Bishop Mulkearns made false statements to the Catholic Church insurer CCI when it started investigating Ridsdale, in order to limit his responsibility.

The commission also examined the abuse perpetrated by Christian Brothers in the diocese, including Ted Dowlan and Robert Best, who was headmaster at St Alipius and would physically assault the children until they cried before comforting and sexually abusing them.

Paul Auchettl, a victim of Best, told the public hearings his abuse became “a pattern of isolation, ­violence, and then the sex, mixed with tenderness”.

Yesterday he said the release of the Ballarat report represented the tip of the iceberg.

“This is our one and only chance to steer in a new direction,” he said.

“We need the government to be able to not just act on the recommendations but show an understanding of what they mean and how important they are to so many people.”

The Christian Brothers Oceania Province yesterday apologised to the abuse victims and the Ballarat community.