Justice Peter McClellan says the Royal Commission was told by "more than one leader" in the Catholic Church that child sexual abuse was seen as a (mere) moral failure and not a crime 'Commissioner condemns Catholic leaders, Manning River Times, 10 December 2019'.
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His speech gave the impression that this was still the common view amongst Catholic leaders. It is not.
Whatever may have been the case for some church leaders in the past, the Commission heard from many current Catholic bishops, myself included, that we have always regarded child sexual assault as a crime as well as a grave sin, and treated it as both.
I am appalled by the criminal acts of some clergy, religious and lay church workers in the past, ashamed of the failure of some church leaders to respond appropriately, and committed to doing all we can to ensure these terrible crimes are never repeated.
Tarring all past, present and emerging church leaders with the same brush in this matter, or implying that nothing has changed in the Church since these matters came to light, is plain wrong. It also fails to acknowledge the efforts of many good people who have contributed to this change and continue to do so.
