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2008/20: Does the Catholic Church in Australia offer sufficient support to those who claim to have been abused by clergy?





Introduction to the media issue

Video clip at right: The Pope apologises to victims of sexual abuse during a World Youth Day speech in Sydney. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because YouTube is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows YouTube clips.

What they said...

'I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering'
Pope Benedict XVI

'They are only words - the same thing we've been hearing for 13 years. It is simply an apology, there is nothing practical there which is what we were looking for'
Anthony Foster, the father of two schoolgirls who were raped by a priest

The issue at a glance
On Saturday July 19, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI issued an apology to all who have been sexually abused by Catholic clergy. The Pope went on to ask the Australian bishops to work on combating the evil of sexual abuse, give victims compassion and care and to create a safer environment for young people.
Pope Benedict was in Australia as part of World Youth Day (WYD) 2008, being staged in Sydney between August 15 and 20. Prior to Pope Benedict's arrival in Australia a previous sex abuse case supposedly mishandled by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell attracted significant media attention.
Bishop Anthony Fisher, who was WYD coordinator, told journalists that this controversy was detracting from the massive Catholic youth festival in Sydney. 'I think most of Australia was enjoying, delighting in the beauty and goodness of these young people ... rather than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds,' Bishop Fisher said.
Bishop Fisher's remarks were generally considered inappropriate and fueled criticism of the Catholic Church's general handling of cases of sexual abuse by clergy.
In the wake of the Pope's apology many within the Catholic Church have stressed the appropriateness the Church's response to the challenge of sexual abuse by clergy. Others, however, do not consider the apology sufficient.