A senior police officer has made damning allegations about the Catholic Church’s concealment of child sexual abuse.
A senior police officer has made damning allegations about the Catholic Church’s concealment of child sexual abuse. Senior NSW Detective Peter Fox gave the ABC’s Lateline program (warning: the content is extremely distressing) a horrifying account of the culture of cover-up he experienced when investigating alleged crimes within the church.
Fox has called on NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell to instigate a Royal Commission, as the only way of uncovering the truth of what happened.
“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,” the Senior Detective Fox told Lateline.
Peter Fox.
“In many cases that I came across, one priest who had previously faced paedophile charges was donating parish money to the legal support of another priest to defend himself from those charges.”
“I had other priests that hadn’t been charged with anything removing evidence and destroying it before we were able to secure it, and we just went around in circles. The greatest frustration is that there is so much power and organisation behind the scenes that police don’t have the powers to be able to go in and seize documents and have them [the church] disclose things to us.”
When asked to respond to the Lateline report on ABC Radio National this morning, Bishop William Wright dismissed the allegations as being in the past and insisted there was ‘no urgency’ to investigate them or have a Royal Commission. ‘I’m annoyed by many things that may have happened to me in the past’ he said, maintaining that the church had changed and causing jaws to hit the floor with his astonishing disregard for the systemic paedophilia in his Catholic Church Diocese of Newcastle.
Following revelations of abuse within the NSW Diocese earlier this year, Mamamia contributor and journalist Sarah Grant was left questioning her religious beliefs. No doubt, many are feeling the same way following these sickening new revelations.
This is what Sarah had to say:
Sarah Grant
By SARAH GRANT
When I was a little girl, my Mum used to tuck my sister and I into bed with a kiss good night, calling out “sweet dreams, God bless,” as she switched off the light.
Like her and her parents before her, we were raised as Catholics. We attended a Catholic primary school, where, from the age of eight, we were required to liturgical dance down the aisles of the local church clad in gold robes, singing hymns praising the wonder and good of God as we went.
As a non-practicing Catholic adult, I have often reflected on the religious emphasis of my early schooling, but despite the subtle sense of indoctrination, I have always felt fairly positive about the faith I was raised with. As a child and as an adult, Catholicism has represented a sense of family and security, a belief that served to deliver a sense of morality and a strong code of values.
That is, until I watched the incredibly powerful and confronting ‘Unholy Silenc’e report that aired on the ABC’s 4 Corners program on Monday night. Sitting on my couch after the program ended, tears streaming down my face, I felt ashamed to be aligned with a church that would turn its back on something as predatory and life destroying as sexual abuse inflicted by a priest.
Abuse of any nature is a terrible act, steeped in an evil exploitation of power. But when the type of abuse is sexual, and it is inflicted on a child by a trusted family source, the outcome is truly devastating—as exampled in this emotionally challenging and provocative piece of investigative journalism.
It revealed senior leaders in the Catholic Church had failed to pass on to police the details of widespread child sexual abuse that a New South Wales priest clearly admitted to. The abhorrent actions of this priest resulted in the suicide of several of his victims, and the destruction of the lives of their families and many others.
Young boys who had their entire sense of self worth shattered. Young boys who grew into troubled teenagers and ruined men, who chose death as the only solution to silence the shrieking inner demons that had run rampant through their tormented minds since childhood.
Cardinal George Pell.
“It would have been no different if he’d just taken a gun and shot him … it just took longer,” said Peter Jurd, referencing his abused brother Damian, who committed suicide at the age of 28. “He never got over the feeling of not being good enough.”
Cardinal George Pell has defended the way the Catholic Church has handled such cases and has cited the Towards Healing response set up to help victims. But it’s going to take more than a response group to save Clare Ann Jurd, Damian’s 19-year-old daughter.
Now battling depression, Clare Ann and her brother have lived with their grandparents since their father’s tragic suicide.‘I go to sleep at night and think what he would be like if this didn’t happen to him,” she told Four Corners. “What I would be like if this didn’t happen to him.”
Watching this beautiful young woman describe the sadness and pain she endures because of the abuse her father shouldn’t have suffered—let alone at the hands of a priest—reduced me to floods of tears. The truly devastating outcome of the crimes committed by these heinous child sex offenders was suddenly so transparent: like a falling pack of dominoes, the impact becomes generational.
It is difficult to admit that my feelings towards the Catholic Church have been somewhat naive, based in cosy childhood sentiments that aren’t a reflection of its present values. I have always regarded my religion to be upheld by the values of compassion and morality. Yet its governing body is one that has exposed itself to be ignorant and weak, still terrified to bring the perpetrators to justice because it will expose the ugliness and shame of their denial.
Why would any Australian want to support such an organisation? I know I don’t.
I commend the ABC for bringing this horrific situation to light, and applaud the victims and their families who summoned all their courage to speak up about their immensely painful plight.
Sarah Grant is the features editor at WHO magazine. In her spare time she likes to delve into topics that aren’t quite as glossy as the world of celebrity. You can find her blog here.
How would you describe your relationship with religion? If you follow a particular faith, are there parts of it you struggle with or question?
Comments
80 Comments so far
Awesome post.Thanks Again. I really liked your blog post.
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Im thankful for the post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
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I appreciate you sharing this post.Really tender thanks you! Much obliged.
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I find this interesting. When I mentioned this exact thing and how the church had treated my partner in the comments of this website about 3 years ago, it actually got removed!! People didn’t like it when I spoke about the Catholic Church the way I did. But they don’t know what I unfortunately know. And don’t be fooled by their so called Towards Healing program. it is the church’s way of ensuring no one finds out and no one gets compensation. My partner wasn’t having a bar of it. He wanted the Priest charged, which did happen eventually and he served 2 years. Big deal! I guess it was something. Now the brother lives out his days on a catholic farm, while his many victims are still left hurting after 30 years. 30 years if npt telling a soul. It is heart wrenching and I have cried so many tears for these men. My partners case was part of a wider investigation that I found out today will form part of the Royal Comission. About time is all I can say!
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It’s about time to revoke the Catholic Churches tax free status.
That will get them off their ass to come clean.
Nothing motivates the church like money. Every bit of evidence that they have been concealing for the past 50 years will appear within a week.
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Peter Fox is doing our country a great service. We all need to aquire, a frame of mind that will empower us to bring down this vile organisation. These crimes are undoubtedly the sickest our species can come up with and which, cries out for punishment. Infact, even the hardest anti-capitol punishment activist, scrambels and stuters their dialoge, In an attempt to find rational as to why these vultures should not pay the ultimate price for their actions. Please visit if you have the time a youtube debate where auther Christoper Hitchens lays it on the organisation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilfSlpENb2Y
I hope this will spur yourself and others to make a stand for the protection of innosence and self-determination of small people.
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Please all go to change.org and sign Catherine Deveny’s petition demanding a royal commission into the Catholic Church abuse!
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I just don’t know why people are only now being surprised by the depth and breadth of abuse and cover ups within the Catholic Church. It’s been known for years if anyone cared to pay attention.
If every practicing or nominal Catholic who professed to be shocked and horrified stopped going to Mass, stopped baptising their children (even ‘just to get into a good school’), took their children out of Catholic schools and stopped referring to themselves as lapsed, non-practicing or culturally Catholic, the Church might actually believe that its flock cared and was no longer willing to provide tacit support for its approach to dealing with such claims by continuing to align themselves with the organisation. But they don’t.
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Agree totally the hypocrisy of Catholics who mumble it’s terrible and continue to attend Mass and send their kids to Catholic schools is appalling.
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Emma, I agree with the first part of your statement, but don’t wholly agree with the second.
People leaving the Church will not be enough; change must come from within. Being Catholic is about being part of a community, and if enough in the community stand up and be heard to say that this cover-up of abuse is not ok (and this is what seems to be happening in Australia, at least), then the Church will have to atone for what they have done. Non-religious Catholics (that is, those who are not nuns, brothers, or priests) far outnumber those who are members of a religious order. Therefore, there is a critical mass who do have the power to force the Church hierarchy to confront these terrible wrongs. The easier option would be to walk away, but then would this bring about change? Catholics and non-Catholics have a voice in this, one that can be the harbinger of change.
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Frances
Emma, I agree with the first part of your statement, but don’t wholly agree with the second.
People leaving the Church will not be enough; change must come from within. Being Catholic is about being part of a community, and if enough in the community stand up and be heard to say that this cover-up of abuse is not ok (and this is what seems to be happening in Australia, at least), then the Church will have to atone for what they have done. Non-religious *Catholics (that is, those who are not nuns, brothers, or priests) far outnumber those who are members of a religious order. Therefore, there is a critical mass who do have the power to force the Church hierarchy to confront these terrible wrongs. The easier option would be to walk away, but then would this bring about change?
Yes, actually it would, if the church started to find their pews running short of worshippers in them, and their collection plates no longer bringing in money, guess what? They would start seeing the need to open themselves to police investigations and to cut loose sexual predators.
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It worries me that the Catholic Church seems to be saying their priests are more worthy of protection than any in their congregations. The holier-than-thou attitude is so wrong on so many levels.
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Hi Sarah,
I am equally horrified about this as you are. I feel sick and tearful when I think of those little boys who were subjected to such evil.
People need to understand that the real catholic belief does not support this and that it’s humans, not God, that give the catholic church a hideous face.
Some just can’t distinguish between people’s actions and the true religion itself and end up assuming that the bad actions religious people are what the actual religion is about.
People make religion look hideous and I wish people would remember that.
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You aren’t the only one Sarah.
I haven’t had my kids baptised, and know that this has upset my parents and caused them issues with the extended family.
I went to church, went through catholic schools and was married in the church. I have been friendly with priests and now work for one in a catholic school.
But I do not want my kids connected to a religion that stands for so many things that I don’t agree with. From not acceping contraception, IVF, divorce, homosexuality or women priests, needing celibacy, …the list appears endless.
And I haven’t even started on the abuse.
It would be hypocritical and naive of me to make my kids part of this. And to be honest I feel like throttling every friend who chooses baptism for their kid. Because most are just doing it because ‘it’s the done thing’. They haven’t actually thought about what the church really stands for.
I want my kids to be spiritual, to have a sense of cpmmunity and be good people. They don’t need Catholicism to do that.
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But you work in a Catholic school? Do you feel any conflict in your anti-Catholic stance but promoting it by working for them?
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A job is a job.
I’m there to work. My personal views about the religion are not relevant when I’m there.
Do I feel conflicted? Sometimes, yes. But it pays the bills.
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That is completely hypocritical. To work for a Catholic school you have to commit to uphold the ethos and continue the mission of the Catholic church. You should feel conflicted. You’ve lied.
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If she walked around promoting her catholic school as the best place for children to go then she would be hypocritical,however in this day and age with the hardship of money and limited jobs people cannot afford to be choosy with where they work… the old saying is “beggars can’t be choosers”. I work in a fast food restaurant but believe the food is disgusting and is a great contriutor to obesity, however it serves its purpose as a means of employment and helping me to pay for my car, clothes, food etc.
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If you have as big a problem with it as Anon states, and go and work for them, it’s hypocritical, and they HAVE lied because every single job with a Catholic school states that you have to support and promote the mission of the Catholic church.
I don’t think anyone needs a lecture on economic realities and sometimes having to do jobs we find distasteful, but you don’t openly state that you have a problem with an institution then take a job that actively requires promotion of the institution you so deride.
Anon says their personal views about the religion aren’t relevant when they’re there – they are, because you must support them and promote them.
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Don’t you think ‘anon’ probably worked for the catholic school system before this big issue came about? And why can’t they openly state they have an issue? Kris2040 is it your opinion that you can never disagree with something your employer or company that you work for has said or done? Because that is truly pathetic, how many people would be without a job if they all behaved like that? And why should you let a minority of people in that company or in this case the church ruin it for yourself?
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I’m not saying that everyone has to believe in everything their employer does or says.
I am pointing out the hypocrisy of stating what problems this person has with the Catholic Church, SPECIFICALLY, not getting kids christened and whatever, then going and working in a job where one of the requirements, straight up, is that you support the Catholic Church. There is so much this person has trouble with that the Catholic Church espouses that aren’t new, and they have even said it’d be hypocritical to send their kids to Catholic schools, but have no problem working in one where those exact values and ideologies are upheld, and those that work there are expected to uphold in working there. Clearly some people have more fluid morals than I do.
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I agree 100% that priests or scout leaders or uncles or fathers or ANYONE in a trusted position that interferes with a child deserves the full force of the law.
I also know a number of priests who would immediately act against any behaviour of this type and they range in age from mid-80′s to mid-40′s.
Tarring all priests and the church with the one brush is wrong. If we were to follow some of the comments below we would shut down the Scout movement along with a number of other faiths in Australia.
The crime needs to be pointed at individuals – the perpetrators and those who knowingly covered it up – not the majority.
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This story upsets me so much. I was raised Anglican. We attended church every Sunday and my brothers sang in the church choir. Only recently our Dean (the Dean of newcastle) was “De-robed” because of child molestation claims. Anglican priests can marry, but he was obviously gay. My eldest brother (who sang in the choir), suddenly turned to drugs at the age of 13, and when he was 20, he killed himself. Being a victim of molestation (non church related), I always suspected his depression was molestation related, but now I will never know for sure. I believe in god, and have enrolled my children in catholic school (my husband is catholic). Our local school is a lovely community based school.
Pedophiles are in every aspects of our community. It might be your friend, Neighbour, scout leader or family member. My problem is that the church knew it and moved them on.
A lot of people have have stories of “dodgy” people in a town they were told to stay away from. This is not new. Lets hope pretending it didn’t happen is in the past.
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So why send your kids to catholic schools?
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Are you serious? She believes in God and her school is lovely and community-based. Every catholic school is not full of paedophiles and people covering up sexual abuse, the majority are wonderful institutions for learning.
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Thank God for Peter Fox. A very brave man. Let’s hope the public get behind him so that it is impossible for the police and the church to silence him.
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Thank Peter Fox for his own bravery. He is exposing the terrible things done in the name of god and religion.
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I can’t help thinking that the cozy stories of safety and goodness that are in reality untrue do not serve children. It is probably as much a form of indoctrination. The fear instilled is that you may lose the ‘goodness and safety” without them or whoever uses this kind of manipulation. Your mother soothed and comforted, and to me she was the one doing the blessing and providing the warmth. The church had nothing to do with it. It was just an association that formed. The church are a law and world unto themselves and do not believe they are bound to principles of accountability and transparency. They also have a lot of money, why are they so rich? Why are they not humble and the first to admit error. Why do they care so much about this life, if they believe in sacrifice and reward in heaven? How arrogant and flagrant can transgression be? Their ‘problem’ is that they are visible to great numbers of people, through the media and the internet. They are exposed. They cannot justify their claim to validity in their spiritual leadership as a church. Individuals inside the church may be so, as there are individuals with conscience everywhere, but not as an organisation. They stand revealed, not just by their past actions but by their ongoing arrogance and sense of entitlement to not face the law for their criminal behaviour. Are they capable of unconditional shame and humility?
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My sons school closed down this year, half way through his year 12. It was a non religious school.
In the drama and confusion that ensued a nearly Catholic school offered to take the whole year 12 cohort. The kids wanted to stay together so it seemed like the least stressful option.
We were grateful that the catholic church took the kids in like that and tried to help as best as they could.
Having said that I felt sick every time I thought of my boy being in a catholic school. They disgust me and paying fees to them felt like an acceptance of the evil that they allow and cover up.
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So then why did you do it? No one forced you to send your child to that school. I find your attitude to be hypocritical in the extreme.
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You’re right. I wasn’t forced to send him there. It was his choice in the end. Still made me sick in my mouth.
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Anyone watching Lateline last night would be terribly sad/angry about the abuse of children. Any paedophile should be brought to justice and in my opinion they should be locked away for life.
However, when one considers how the Catholic CHurch has handled the matter ( abysmal as their handling of the situation has been), one also needs to consider how long ago these offences occurred and the prevailing community attitudes/ medical and psychiatric knowledge.
e.g. about 70 years ago , my mother was a primary school aged child and her mother was entertaining a male neighbour in their flat. when my grandmother left the living room to go into the kitchen ( only a few metres away but a separate room), the paedophile went for my mothers crutch. When my mother recoiled in horror, the paedo told her “Don’t tell your mother”. Fortunately, the minute he left the premises , my mother told her mother what had happened, she was understandably horrified that her daughter had been touched. My grandmother never invited the man into her flat again and warned her daughter to never be anywhere him. However, it is important to note that SHE DID NOT GO TO THE POLICE.
I have another anecdote more recently say about 30 years ago, involving a teenage girl. The male neighbour, a married man with kids, offered to give the girl a lift to school. on a regular basis. The unsuspecting parents agreed. Then their daughter started expressing reluctance to take a lift. Fortunately the mother questioned the girl and she broke down and divulged that the man had been showing her pornographic magazines, presumably grooming her for future sexual activity. AGAIN, THE MOTHER DID NOT GO TO THE POLICE, SHE SIMPLY REMOVED HER CHILD FROM THE SITUATIOn
Thirty or so years ago,My mother heard from a paperboy that when he delivered the paper to the local hairdresser ( male) he gave him a tip if he gave him a kiss. She rang the boys mother and informed her ( BUT AGAIN NOONE WENT TO THE POLICE).
Many older people will tell stories that were men in their neighbourhoods considered padeophiles, they warned their children to stay away from them but again noone went to the police ( or if they did, nothing was done about it).
In the past people did not understand the horrendous psychological damage done by child sexual abuse. They thought kids would “” get over it”". The thought the best way to handle it was to to just never talk about it and sweep it under the carpet.
I would suggest that some offenders in church organisation were given “” second chances” on the grounds of forgiveness, you know “” go and sin no more”. I would suggest the gravity of the crime, was not fully understood. as oin the past there was reticence to discuss any matter pertaining to sex, let alone sexual abuse of children.These days there is far greater awareness in the general community of the harmfulness of child sexual assault. however, even so professionals have had to have mandatory reporting imposed on them as : people are reluctant to report for whatever reason.
records show some offenders were sent for treatment and perhaps they thought the offenders could be cured. frankly, I say lock paedophiles away, never to be released.
paedophilia is not limited to catholic priests, paedophiles can be found in all religious institutions. The scout movement was a haven for padeophiles. Teachers are paedophiles.psychologists and doctors may be paedophiles. Your childs sports coach , music teacher, your neighbour, your husband, your boyfriend maybe a paedophile, they are everywhere so be vigilant. Your child is far more likely to be molested by someone known to them than by a stranger.
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“Your child is far more likely to be molested by someone known to them than by a stranger.”
And sometimes that ‘someone know to them’ WAS a priest – that’s the point.
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Quite frankly I found your comments offensive. You obviously do not realise that for the victims of abuse it does not matter how long ago the abuse occurred. They live with it everyday. It is real and current. It is never to late for justice to be done.
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Suki, i was not minimising the damage done to victims just pointing out that many years ago the general public did not understand how damaging childhood sexual assault was. Nor did the general public understand the nature of paedophilia. If people do not understand what they are dealing with, they are far less likely to handle situations appropriately.
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But not all of the abuse happened that long ago.
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Let me guess, you are catholic and an apologist for evil done by many priests of the catholic church against children.
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Catherine,
I know of a situation where a boy was taken from a school camp by a teacher. The pair were missing the whole night. Other teachers reported the episode to police, but the parents would not press charges! The teacher was removed from the school, jailed on another paedophilia charge and banned from teaching, but I often wonder how the parents felt about other children suffering in the same way as their son did. They probably justify it saying that they are protecting their child/ren, but I don’t know that it does.
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I know of parents whose male children molested their younger sisters or cousins and did not do anything about it. Then there are some victims of childhood sexual assault who grow up, have their own children and leave their children in the care of the person who abused them, only to find another generation is abused by the offender. Non reporting of childhood sexual abuse is rife for many reasons
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Wow Catherine – are you an enabler?
Your comments read more and more like a celebration of silence and tolerance on child sex abuse, and why we shouldn’t rip off the covers and expose it all.
All of the non-reporting makes it OK then? These “people” (priests or otherwise) should be free to keep on offending and destroying lives? If there’s so much as even a chance to lock one of them away, why wouldn’t we take that opportunity? If the Church doesn’t have anything to hide, why the resistance?
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i would really struggle to send my kids to a catholic school. i just couldn’t risk what could happen to them, let alone give them my money. until they sort this out i wouldn’t even set foot in a church.
if every catholic that was against what the church has done stopped supporting them. they would soon act, but while everyone continues to support them and give their money they can continue on regardless.
i dread to think what is happening in missions in developing countries. until they seriously change their ways i will only ever see the catholic church as an evil organisation that support paedophilia.
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It is unfortunate and even despicable that Christianity should ever have been represented in any way by the deeds and teachings of this church, which since its inception, has manipulated the real message beyond recognition, for the purpose of achieving its own agendas. These agendas have from the beginning of Christianity been designed for large-scale brainwashing and control of the individual so that the real message becomes obscured by dogma.
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Wow you’ve pretty much put into words exactly what I’ve been thinking.
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The ongoing disgusting truth is finally coming out about the dysfunctional Catholic Church in Australia and the behaviour of its priests and bishops over the last 50-70 years. Only a Royal Comission on a national level will have any hope of realising the full detail of what has happened and what has been covered up. I notice Bill Shorten, and Joe Hockey both falling over themselves to say a RC is not the answer. Both are Catholics, both went to elitist CC schools. The CC is about power. Its schools, hospitals and charities are where its power lies, not in church congregations. The only answer for moral Catholics is to refuse all donations, school fees, etc to any Catholic organisation. This would send a message like no other. Your ongoing silence is approval of the way the CC hierachy are handling this crisis. Your opportunity to positively do something to support these many hundreds of victims of tragic abuse is here. Do you have the fortitude to take action and stand up for justice??
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I went to catholic schools but was not raised in a religious household. I have nothing but contempt & anger towards the Catholic Church for their systematic support of pedophilia … It’s all about power & covering up to protect their own. The height of hypocrisy! Not to mention how sexist the religion is.
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My husband is a catholic and is in his 30′s and he remembers being told which priests he shouldn’t go near when visiting some wa country towns. he was educated in catholic schools and has told me that while there wasn’t anything bad going on in his schools you got told tales about other schools and it was known within the catholic community who was dodgy. On today tonight or a current affair a few years ago they had a story about a priest in a small town not far from perth who wanders around his property naked and was terrorising the neighbours my husband said wow he’s still there we were told on school camps don’t go near him he likes teenage boys. my husbands said it was things like this that made him not raise his children as catholics.
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I too was brought up Catholic but turned away from the church as a young adult. I could not possibly support a religion that rules with fear and guilt, that discriminates against women, that is homophobic and is completely out of touch with modern life. My parents left the church about 15 years ago when their local parish priest was arrested and went to jail for pedophilia.
Why can’t the church just let priests have normal sexual relationships with consenting adults. Let them marry. They can still serve god without having to deny their normal/human sexual urges. I’m convinced that if this were the case there wouldn’t be so much child abuse.
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This doesn’t make sense. If celibacy is the problem, the priests would break their vows with WOMEN who are of LEGAL age!? Not children.
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In my opinion, the Catholic Church has always been about power first, people second. How can a Church have its own bank yet so many third world countries are of Catholic population, their poverty caused by it’s backward views on contraception? It is incredibly patriarchal, in both hierarchy and doctrine and depends upon the brainwashing of children from a young age to ensure adherence. The arrogance with which this Church has conducted itself is astounding, particularly in reference to its pedophilia problem and the way it simply refuses to budge on issues important to women. It is also unnerving to watch how it preys on parents in its current trend of recruiting students to its schools with the promise of a ‘cheap, private education.’ Devout you do not need to be, as long as you hand us your children! I hope the current mass exodus of many disgruntled Catholics continues and causes it to implode and disappear or at least oust those relics who head up the Vatican. Of all the religions, I would never, ever put money in this plate.
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I read Sarah’s reflections with great sadness. Like Sarah, I, my parents and their parents were educated in Catholic schools.
Now 60, I reflect on those elements of my upbringing which may have led me into contact with any priests who have betrayed their calling. There are none of whom I or my siblings am aware
Born in Sydney in the early 1950s, my family moved to Adelaide in the mid 1950s. We lived in a suburb on the north side of the city and attended St Monica’s at Walkerville. I and my three older brothers learnt to be altar boys, training that was undertaken in our parish church and at the school we attended, St Ignatius College, Norwood. None of us experienced anything even remotely like that which is described by Sarah (I do remember thinking that the parish priest was just so old, he may have been 30, or 40).
In 1962, we relocated to Melbourne. We lived in the nice end of Hawthorn. Across the road was Kew. One further block over there was a Franciscan monastery. I scored Tuesday morning mass duty as an altar boy, along with some Saturdays and Sundays. My recollection of the Chapel was that it had a beautifully appointed main altar surrounded by 8, maybe more, smaller altars. I only had to worry about a particular altar and assist the priest saying mass at that altar. Every priest on each of these altars had the support of an altar boy – there were no congregations for these side altars though there was always a congregation for the main altar in the chapel. I spent a year in Melbourne and I only think most warmly of this time. Neither I nor any my companion servers had any difficulties through this time. On the contrary.
I did also serve at school, the Jesuit Xavier preparatory school called Burke Hall.
In 1963 we returned to Sydney, while our parish church was St Michael’s Lane Cove, a parish I eventually engaged with in a big way, we tended to spend much more time at the Jesuit parish of St Mary’s in North Sydney. One of my bothers and I served Sunday and feast day liturgies at St Mary’s for about 5 years. Again, there was not the faintest hint of any problems such as those noted in Sarah’s article.
Subsequently I joined a senior high school student’s group at St Michael’s – we catered there for students in years 9 through 12. On leaving school, we were encouraged to join the Catholic Youth Organization, in the late 1960s and early 1970s this was still a vibrant organization. Having been President of the CYO branch at Lane Cove, I was ultimately elected to the Sydney Archdiocesan executive of the CYO.on which I remained until the end of 1972.
In 1973, I left home and moved to Melbourne,living by myself from the age of 20. My parish was the Jesuit run St Francis Xavier’s in Hawthorn.
My memories of the priests and brothers with whom I engaged, are universally positive, even the ones where we may have had some disagreement.
I remain a practising Catholic, though I find myself needing the sacrament of reconciliation more frequently than perhaps I might like. I have six children aged from 34 down to 17, including three boys aged 29, 26 and 20. None of my children have experienced the evils Sarah describes for which I am eternally grateful.
I have four grandchildren, the oldest is 14 the others much younger. He has experienced priests as friends without any exposure to sordid issues.
Why have I and my family been so fortunate. I truly do not know.
I do know that all of my children and my grandchildren still practice though many of their friends, in some cases most, appear to have given up years ago.
My parents loved their faith and encouraged their children to love it too. Did their example and that part of their faith which sought to develop friendships with priests, brothers and religious help protect us? Again, I do not know. I do know that there was always room for a member of the clergy at our dinner table, and particularly at our Sunday lunch.
But I also believe that there is more to this than just my good fortune.
MJS
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You were lucky. My dad was not. He committed suicide because of what happened to him during his time at the Catholic boys school he went to. Nobody believed him, not even his parents. The cover up of these pedophile priests is disgusting, and no one is to blame except the Catholic church. Absolutely disgraceful, especially when people deny ,deny, deny. It happened, and I’d put money on it that it is still happening.
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I think your overall tone is very arrogant and very in line with the Catholic Church. You didn’t experience it do it must be made up. My brother went to a Catholic school and one of the brothers was a known pedophile praying on kids at overnight school camps.
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Why arrogant? I am describing my personal, direct, experiences
All of my secondary schooling and most of my primary education was undertaken at male single sex schools. A small number of women were on the teaching staffs of the various schools I attended.
Through my secondary school years I attended many camps organised by the school with all male support staff. I neither saw nor heard of activities such as you describe.
From 1966 to 1969, I was a member of the Cadet Corp of the school I attended. We had weekly, Friday after school training. Every year, the Cadet Corp went to Singleton Army barracks where intensive training was conducted over a two week period. That training was given by teaching staff from the school with some input from Regular Army instructors.
Then in December, selected cadets went to Singleton to undertake promotion courses. These were run almost entirely by Regular Army instructors. Part of our training was to go into bush and heavily overgrown areas where there was significant opportunity to engage in inappropriate behaviors. We experienced none of these concerns. I attended three of these promotion courses seeing my rank progress through the years from corporal, to sergeant and finally CUO.
In neither of these situations did issues with pedophilia or homosexual practice arise.
I returned from Melbourne to Sydney in 1974 and moved in to the all male Catholic College at UNSW. I contrast my two year experience of college life in the early/mid seventies most favorably in the light of the horrendous activities being exposed at the co-ed Catholic college at Sydney University. There were no attempts to attack young students at the UNSW college.
While at UNSW, I joined the UNSW Regiment, and undertook regular training activities. My recollection is that in the first half of the 1970s, this Regiment was all male, if it was not then there were very few women.
Again, despite the characteristic maleness that makes up military life, I neither experienced personally or heard about others who had been attacked.
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Yes , you may be just recounting your personal experiences, but in saying I never heard about it, I never saw it, nobody I know knew experienced anything, you make it sound like people who have come forward are lying. You are denying anything happened because YOU didn’t see, hear, experience it. You are refusing to acknowledge that it happened to boys at all, when it did. Not to a just few but many. Because of people like you, victims don’t come forward and abuse is allowed to continue. It happened, it’s about time you started accepting it and showing a little compassion to all the victims, instead of spouting off about the great time you had.
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You are not correct in that assertion.
I am most definitely neither lying nor making something up – if I do so it can be falsified readily, as can everything I have said be verified.
Neither am I accusing those who have suffered these assaults of lying.
I do reject out of hand your assertion that the “abuse is allowed to continue” – what evidence do you have for this, where do suggest we turn to see this, who has recently been arrested or outed for activities happening today?
Let me try and make this clear, objectively and definitely no matter any possible theoretical subjective assessments of individual guilt, men responsible for these assaults have done serious wrong.
Yet I am struck as I read the stories, as I see and listen to interviews by affected people, by several things:
These evil activities are almost exclusively if not entirely, in the past – I do not sense or detect through the various media outlets, on-line, print, radio, television, offenders, male religious or priests, conducting sexual assaults on young males, in the Catholic Church;
When there is a new report, it is about an incident or incidents from 20 and 30 and 40 years ago – that is one reason that I tell my experiences – clearly I was an age bracket where it was likely I might be targeted if an individual had these proclivities.
The paucity of such reports is due to a string of measures introduced at the point of entry and through the years of training in a seminary – I have wondered about the Jesuits – you do not become a Jesuit priest until you have typically gained a degree in a secular discipline, attending a regular university, before pursuing qualifications in theology and philosophy, waiting 10 or 11 from beginning to ordination then continuing further training for another 2 – 3 years. The spiritual disciplines may have weeded out problem children.
I contemplated a vocation to the diocesan priesthood which would have seen me begin my formation in 1970. As part of the screening process in place in 1969, I was required to attend a session with a priest psychologist. The session lasted almost two hours. While many matters were canvassed, the one that stuck in my mind was the discussion about my ability to be close to women in other than a sexual way. Whatever I said, I was passed through to the next stage of the assessment. I was ultimately offered a place to begin formation.
I decided before I commenced my studies to find my way in the secular world and found my calling as a husband and father.
In the light of this process and everything we know now about the activities of pedophiles abusing their callings, I have reflected on the psychological interview, there was no discussion about my feelings about young males. Would it have made a difference? I think probably not, I just cannot be sure.
I am reminded that the Catholic Church is a Church for sinners. Good people are naturally welcome, it is just that most of this class started as sinners too.
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Today’s SMH has examples of abuse from 2007.
Is five years close enough for you?
The investigator suggests that for a particular branch on the Catholic Church, up to 70% of the brothers were active abusers.
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My comment is to the post by “An Idle Dad”.
I am grateful for you pointing me to the article on this topic published in the SMH Monday 12 November 2012, this is the article by Callinan and Tovey and discusses in particular issues arising out of serious offences and claims against the Catholic religious group known as the St John of God Order which I understand has both priests and (religious) brothers.
This article appears not to contain examples of abuse from 2007 – it outlines reports against the order stretching back many years and it tells the story of one psychologist who had been on a committee of the Order investigating the many (legitimate) complaints. This person resigned from the investigating committee in 2007 citing the power she believed pedophiles still held throughout the order. She appears not to have stated that assaults were occurring in 2007. Is there another article with this information?
Again, thank you, I do appreciate that reference.
(And separately, how can a dad be idle?)
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Idleness is the dream, not the reality.
You are correct, there is no mention of specific abuse in 2007, but it is claimed that paedophiles were still in charge, actively thwarting investigations and justice and being supported financially by the main Catholic Church to the tune of millions of dollars.
Even if you make the leap of faith that all abuse has stopped despite paedophiles remaining in leadership positions within the organisation, is not protecting paedophiles from facing justice – as in jail time, not paying off victims and a cushy job in another state or country – a crime enough for you to declare support for a Royal Commission?
As for Pell, imagine gifting millions of dollars – known to be used for child sexual abuse compensation – yet not have the diligence to ask if the perpetrators been removed from that organisation? Or any guarantees?
To simply hand over millions then say “I was not briefed on outcomes” – it smacks of institutionalised cover-ups, not to mention a lacklustre attitude of care towards the victims of his organisation.
I appreciate all your comments, I just can’t see how people want to believe everything is just fine.
If everyone is wrong and there is nothing going on, then a Royal Commission would clear the air once and for all.
Wouldn’t you love to see Pell exonerated?
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To An Idle Dad!
I support the proposed Royal Commission, it should get beneath all the barriers that have been erected around these evil practices over so many years. I am pleased that the Commission’s focus will be cross institutional even though I suspect the principal focus will be on the Catholic Church. I don’t know if there are similar structures in the US or Ireland or France but those parts of the Catholic Church could certainly have benefited from the inquisitorial powers of a Royal Commission such as we have in Australia.
It is also important that the Commission is a creature of the Commonwealth, it cuts across jurisdictional issues that may be thrown in the path of investigators.
Royal Commissions have a proud history in Australia, this will be conducted in that tradition.
It will be really interesting to see documentation on the loans(?) to the St John of God order in Australia. There is a lot more to come from that.
While George Pell is the titular and for most practical purposes the head of the Catholic Church in Australia, there are some caveats to that.
Cardinal Pell does not by virtue of his office as Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney have power or control over the other Bishops of the Catholic Church in Australia. Look at the relationships between a Mannix, a Beovich and a Gilroy to get that sense. Pell may have a persuasive influence, but if one of his brother Bishops decides to do something in his diocese with which Pell disagrees, there is virtually nothing that Pell can do about it!
Pell has been investigated and cleared following allegations of abuse made against him personally. He stood aside from his office during the investigation, returning only when the investigators determined that the information was at best unreliable.
Similarly, Pell, as the titular head of the Catholic Church, has surprisingly little control over many of the orders working in his diocese and other dioceses headed by brother bishops in Australia. Some orders come and place their resources totally at the service of the relevant bishop. Others secure an accommodation with the local Ordinary/Bishop. Immediately the Jesuits come to mind – not only do they enjoy a remarkable independence, they also have their own missals for celebrating Catholic liturgies. The Personal Prelature granted by the Pope to Opus Dei is another example though that is quite unlike any religious order with its spirituality focused on engagement with the world and personal formation. There are now several such personal prelatures each with a distinct charism.
Much of this will need to be canvassed to understand how the Catholic Church works and how different parts can work effectively while other parts seem to be constricted in their activities.
I understand that you may find my next comment a trifle odd.
I actually do not want to see Cardinal Archbishop George Pell exonerated! I would rather have us in a situation where his positive contributions are recognised for what they are with no one suggesting there is a need to test his actions. Nevertheless, I understand that in the way of such things, Pell will be called to give evidence. I will be astounded if Pell is found to have erred in any aspect his handling of abuse matters within his jurisdiction. He will be found to be innocent of any personal wrongdoing. He will be found not to have engaged in any pattern of conduct seeking suppression of information. Thus not only will he be exonerated in the end, his efforts to render the Catholic Church free of these evils will be warmly applauded.
One matter that will arise is likely to be the Royal Commission’s attempts to found out what was said in the sacrament of reconciliation, the confessional. The Catholic Church attaches an absolute silence to matters discussed between penitent and confessor. There are absolutely no concessions. This is a situation where absolute silence means precisely that. A confessor may suggest to a penitent that the latter should take a matter before relevant public authorities but cannot force that nor speak to the penitent outside the sacrament or speak to relevant authorities himself about the matter.
The silence of the confessional is absolute. It admits of no exceptions.
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So…..only bad Catholics got sexually assaulted?
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“why have I and my family been so fortunate”? because pedophiles pick their victims carefully. They can take months and months testing their victim to see if their the right one. They’re cunning and secretive and devious. Absolute monsters in disguise.
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Martin I’m not sure of the point of your post but I do appreciate that you did not try to make excuses for the real and evil things that have happened within the church or make suggestions on what others should do with their faith.
I didn’t find your post arrogant at all it was just an honest account of your experience.
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I was raised Catholic and am also non practising.
I find these stories frustrating because it’s like the writer thinks they’ve had this novel thought when really, 99% of practising Catholics feel the same way. What type of freak would think that pedophile’s shouldn’t be locked up forever for the evil they have committed?
Additionally, why is it always the Catholic Church getting portrayed in the media as some sick institution? This happens across ALL religions – just off the top of my head I read a story the other day about a Hasidic rabbi in NY who was charged with pedophilia crimes.
It’s NEVER OK for pedophilia to occur but as usual, the media just loves to bash the Catholics – 99% of who are good, honest people.
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The Catholics get more scrutiny because they are the ones that absolutely will not accept female priests and marriage in the priest hood, then they wonder why so many of the priests are so horribly sick in mind. I think as a proportion the abuse is higher in the catholic church and don’t tell me the doctrine does not contribute to that. No one does hypocrisy like the Catholics so they get the extra scrutiny
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“will not accept female priests and marriage in the priest hood, then they wonder why so many of the priests are so horribly sick in mind”
I don’t think those two are connected.
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they’re not. In the vast majority of sex abuse cases in the last 50 years, the victims are pubescent males, not women. So allowing women to be priests and to marry would have no implications. like someone said above, this happens in all religions and all areas of society. there was a particularity bad period (across society) in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, because people didnt know how to deal with it
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I think you will find that the evidence shows a more equal distribution between genders – doesn’t change the fact that non-marriage and sick minds are not correlated – just a point of clarification
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There are many great lay people in the catholic church who cannot join the priest hood because they are married. Perverts and sick minded men were drawn to institutions like the church or scouts because they had ready access to children knowing they could commit sin with little questions asked. If priests could marry or you can have female priests you would draw a greater number of the people that represent society in its fuller form. Yeah some of the married clergy would abuse, but the number would be more in line with the general population. There really does appear to be a disproportionate number of catholic priests being done for abuse so it must be the doctrine to blame in a sense
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The investigation Peter Fox was doing and has probably killed his career over was all about the Catholic diocese of Newcastle and the Hunter region. How can it NOT be about the Catholic church when there is proof of cover-ups, moving the priests around if there was a whiff of an allegation rather than dealing with them properly and then the breathtaking attitude of the Bishop above (it’s in the past, get over it)?? I get that you don’t like having your church attacked, but they have brought it on themselves, and there is truly something rotten happening in the upper echelons of the Catholic church, the Newcastle-Hunter diocese and their links with the NSW Police Force when investigations can be directed to be surrendered and coppers who have been working on getting justice for those who have been abused getting stood down from cases they’ve been working on for 20-odd years.
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It isn’t about bashing Catholics, it is holding an organisation that has institutionalised abuse and embedded protection of the abuser to account.
Sure, other groups have abusers – teachers do as well. But teachers must report suspected abuse. Complaints must be referred to police, it is illegal to dismiss them. Police never complain that they are given the run around when investigating teachers. Yet it is still happening today with the Catholic Church.
Wouldn’t a Royal Commission be a good thing? We are passed the time where the church can continue to hush things up. The media will not stop. The police will not stop. There is only one way to stem the damage: reveal those who committed the crimes and those who protected them. Punish the guilty. Begin the healing. Restore the good name of the Church.
I don’t see why Catholics would have anything to fear.
There is only one reason to refuse: those in power know they what they have done, and don’t want it exposed.
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The reason is because the Catholic church has been known to cover up acts of paedophilia, by not reporting it to the police and letting known paedophile’s remain in positions of trust where they are in contact with children.
A hadisdic rabbi was CHARGED – many Catholic priests that have been involved in paedophilia have NOT been charged, due to cover ups by the church.
THAT is why Catholicism is held up to scrutiny.
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K if 99% of Catholics were good people they would be boycotting their churches and refusing to finance (by money in the plate) the Vatican’s continued disregard of the experiences of these once loyal, now damaged followers.
Yes there are paedophiles in other areas of society but none as brazen as the Catholic priests. We are talking a worldwide institution facilitating the mass abuse of children, without apology. I’m sorry but instead of defending your church, why aren’t you ashamed of it? And not just over paedophilia… what about its policies that affect women, especially third world women? Would you have really chosen to be a member of this church if it wasn’t ingrained in you from a young age??
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Anonymous – So its just like saying that all good Muslims should boycott and leave Islam due to all the jihadi suicide bombers that kill in the name of Allah?
I agree the pedophile preists are sick, and should be locked away, and it was terrible the way the Catholic Church has handled this situation. If people are dissatisfied with the Catholic Church as an institution by all means move on- but people shouldn’t walk away from following Christ’s teachings.
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Why would stopping support for the Catholic church mean walking away from Christ’s teachings? If it’s so important, you take that with you – you take it everywhere you go anyway, right?
People rightly recognise muslim extremists as misusing the name of their faith for their own ends. The Catholic church, however, has covered up and enabled abuse over a long period of time, and appears to want to continue that by putting pressure on the NSW Police (and having that pressure rewarded by the investigation being ordered to be surrendered) and therefore showing that this rot is way up through the church AND the government.
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Why would you think that the Catholic Church is unfairly singled out? It is not about the pedophile individuals who abuse, but about the organisation protecting the abusers and not placing the healing of and justice for the victims of this crime first and foremost that is being criticised. Justifiably. Any organisation that behaved that way should be charged with criminal offences, more severely than the average person precisely because of their duty of care and responsibility in claiming to provide safety and guidance and a moral high ground. it is the power they hold in it, that enables them to abuse.
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The complacency of the ’99% good honest Catholics’ I find very disturbing, by continuing to support and defend this organisation you are in a way enabling this behaviour and the organised cover up and protection of the perpetrators.
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This is an interesting issue. I know many “good honest Catholics” who are disgusted with the church’s hierarchy in so many ways. They often consider leaving, but believe there is goodness within the church as well. They don’t want to just give in, and walk away to let the bad people win. They choose to stay and fight for reform from the inside. But it does get harder and harder for them to stay.
For example, I’ve personally never heard any Catholic have a good word to say about George Pell, including in any of the Catholic schools I’ve worked in.
But, having said that, revelations like this are so disgusting and heart-breaking, that it does make me wonder if anything ‘good’ can be salvaged now. I feel sorry for the ‘good honest Catholics’ facing this difficult choice. (And before anyone attacks, obviously their heartbreak is not comparable to that of the abuse victims.)
MM, it would be interesting to get an opinion piece about this issue from one of the intelligent, critical Catholics, who have a voice in the media, such as Paul Collins, or Frank Brennan.
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Which religion has had the highest damages awarded against it and the greatest number of priests jailed for pedophilia ? its not Catholic Bashing its just merely stating the facts. Why is the Catholic church in decline ? its because the once faithful are deserting because they are disgusted by the evidence and convictions of these criminals wearing the cloth. Ask yourself as to why the Pope supports censorship on the Internet, The Net has been responsible for laying bare the smelly carcass of criminal activities within the Catholic church, also their cover ups, denials, transferring of criminal priests to other areas to re commit their crimes. The Catholic churches Holier than Thou image has been well and truly shattered..Their are a lot of Catholics well up in the Police and in Politics and Government and because of this a Royal Commission I feel is unlikely to occur.
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Agree many conservative politicians in both major parties areCatholic, Abbot, Hockey, Shorten,Bernardi, Very significant as they will not agitate for a Royal Comission, only the Greens will.
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The Catholic Church makes me seethe with anger, makes me want to break at least 5 of their commandments to avenge this behaviour. I don’t hate people often but I make an exception for pedophiles. The fact that this church preaches ‘goodness’ and practices evil utterly disgusts me.
I’d better stop there.
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