The Sky Valley Chronicle (Washington)
November 12, 2012
(INTERNATIONAL) — Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a national Royal Commission to investigate decades of child abuse in Australian churches, schools and foster homes.
The announcement follows calls by lawmakers for a larger inquiry into widespread abuse over decades in the Catholic Church –including charges the church had concealed evidence of pedophile priests – after it was alleged by a senior police officer that investigations were hindered and in some cases compromised by church officials, according to published reports in the Sydney Morning Herald and other Australian publications.
”Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox whose revelations over the alleged cover up sparked a public outcry over the weekend was speaking with ABC Radio as the Prime Minister made the announcement. He said that he was “stunned that it’s happened so quickly, and delighted, absolutely delighted for all those victims out there,” according to a report in Herald.
Prime Minister Gillard, saying that a Royal Commission was the best way to investigate the claims, added the commission would address “institutional responses to child abuse” – the instances of abuse as well as the manner in which they have been dealt – by a range of institutions including religious groups.
Last week, the state of New South Wales announced an inquiry into child sexual abuse after detective Fox accused the church of trying to silence investigations into allegations of abuse.
Fox, who had investigated several cases of sexual assault over decades, called for a national inquiry in an open letter in which he wrote in part, “I can testify from my own experience that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church.”
In a statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, representing Australian bishops, said it supported the announcement of a Royal Commission.
In September, the Roman Catholic Church in the Australian state of Victoria confirmed that more than 600 children had been sexually abused by its priests since the 1930s.
It said the church deeply regretted the suffering and trauma endured by children who had been in the church’s care, but said that “talk of a systemic problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is ill-founded and inconsistent with the facts”.
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PM announces abuse inquiry
The Age (Australia)
Date November 12, 2012
David Wroe
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a Royal Commission to investigate decades of child abuse in churches, schools and foster homes.
Ms Gillard said the commission would address “institutional responses to child abuse” – the instances of abuse as well as the manner in which they have been dealt – by a range of institutions.
She said she would work in coming weeks with Attorney General Nicola Roxon to define the terms of reference, but said she imagined the investigation would go back decades.
The announcement follows calls by the Greens and some Labor backbenchers for a Royal Commission into abuse in the Catholic Church, after it was alleged by a senior policeman that investigations were hindered and in some cases compromised by church officials.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox whose revelations over the alleged cover up sparked a public outcry over the weekend was speaking with ABC Radio as the Prime Minister made the announcement. He said that he was “stunned that it’s happened so quickly, and delighted, absolutely delighted for all those victims out there.”
He added that he had been overwhelmed by public support since speaking out, and that he was hopeful the Royal Commission would provide “opportunity to get things right, to look at recommendations for laws that should be changed to protect kids, or systems to be put in place.”
Ms Gillard stressed the inquiry would not be limited to the Catholic Church.
“We will work on the specific terms of reference but this is about children who were in the care of religious organisations – so that’s all religious organisations – it’s about children who were in state care, it’s about children who were in the care of not-for-profit bodies other than religious organisations, it will therefore go as well to the response of children’s services agencies, and the response of the police.”
“The allegations that have come to light recently about child sexual abuse have been heartbreaking,” Ms Gillard said.
“These are insidious, evil acts to which no child should be subject. The individuals concerned deserve the most thorough of investigations into the wrongs that have been committed against them.
“They deserve to have their voices heard and their claims investigated. I believe a Royal Commission is the best way to do this.”
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had earlier given his backing to a Royal Commission, provided it was not limited to the Catholic Church.
“Any investigation must be wide-ranging, must consider any evidence of the abuse of children in Australia, and should not be limited to examination of any one institution. It must include all organisations, government and non-government, where there is evidence of sexual abuse.”
Ms Gillard said terms of reference and a proposed commissioner would be submitted soon to Governor-General Quentin Bryce, who has the power to establish the commission.
She said she had the backing of her Cabinet. She will speak in coming days to state premiers about co-ordinating with any existing inquiries.
The Prime Minister would not be drawn on either the cost or the timeframe of the Royal Commission saying that “the time should be taken to get it right, to make sure that the royal commission does the work that we want it to do.”
“In terms of costs, the government will make appropriate provision for them and the matter will be accounted for in the budget in May next year. Clearly, the costs will become apparent as the inquiry goes on and the government will make continuous provision as necessary.”
With Damien Bright
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Finally, the truth can emerge
The Age
Date: November 12, 2012
Barney Zwartz
THIS journalist has used up a few dead trees in criticising politicians for tardy and inadequate responses to clergy sex abuse of children. So it is with real pleasure that I and surely most Australians congratulate Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her cabinet for calling a royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who some cruelly claim takes his orders directly from Cardinal George Pell, also deserves credit for offering the bipartisan support needed to smooth its path.
The details, including the terms of reference, have yet to emerge, but Gillard’s announcement of the scope it will cover – all religions, state care, not-for-profit organisations, schools, child welfare agencies and police – is encouraging.
It’s also encouraging that the PM suggested the inquiry would take as long as it needed. In Ireland the process took nine years but was deeply cathartic. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission had a similar role.
The argument by Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, at the weekend that the Catholic Church was no worse than other organisations, and that calls were motivated by anti-Catholic prejudice, was clearly self-serving, and it is appropriate that it fell on deaf ears.
As the Victorian inquiry has been told, nine out of 10 cases of clergy sexual abuse involve Catholic priests or brothers. But victims of sexual abuse in other institutions, whether state orphanages or Jewish schools, must also have the opportunity to tell their stories.
This is what victims, their supporters, most of the Catholic faithful and the wider community have been seeking. Bring it on!
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Vital to get this inquiry right
The Age
Date: November 12, 2012
Michelle Grattan
Political editor of The Age
THE federal government had little choice but to set up a royal commission into child sex abuse, given the horrific evidence, the extent of what has happened over many years, the cries of victims and the reaction of an appalled community.
But responding to both the problem and the public outcry brings difficulties that will become even more apparent as the work gets underway.
Obviously the commission had to go wide. While the Catholic Church has been the focus of many of the allegations, it could not be singled out.
But once you went beyond it, where to stop? It could not just look at churches. State institutions, schools of all types, sporting bodies, even the boy scouts – the list is endless and the PM says they are all to be included.
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Just how any one commission can get around all this material in any reasonable time is hard to imagine.
And then there is the PM’s specification that it will focus not just on those directly or indirectly responsible but also those who had effectively turned a blind eye.
This will take a royal commission into very tricky areas, in terms of definition and the collection of evidence.
Respected Jesuit priest and legal expert Frank Brennan worries that the commission is “so broad it risks being counter-productive”.
Clearly, the drawing up of the detailed terms of reference will be critical, as will the choice of commissioners to get the required spread of expertise, something Ms Gillard mentioned.
This will be a seminal inquiry for the nation, as important as that into the “stolen generations”. It is vital, for the victims and for the community generally, that it be got right. It must be not just a thorough investigation, but one that leads to an improvement of institutions found to be at fault. It also needs to help the healing process for those whose lives have been deeply harmed by the wrongs done to them.
I know little about the Australian system and what a Royal Commission might and could accomplish. I don’t know, for example, if the findings of an Australian Royal Commission can lead to criminal charges being laid where criminal activity is unveiled. I don’t know if the commission can even look for criminal activity. That I suppose will all become clear when the mandate is hammered and unveiled.
I would be remiss if I did not say that I do have concerns.
“Respected Jesuit priest and legal expert Frank Brennan worries that the commission is ‘so broad it risks being counter-productive’”.
Amen. Will this be akin to the $60M Cornwall Public Inquiry with its flawed and very broad mandate? I hope and pray that is not the case. We shall see.