Royal commission into child sexual abuse: 1,880 alleged
perpetrators identified in Catholic Church
By Philippa McDonald and Riley Stuart, ABC
Protesters left signs outside the royal commission this morning ahead of the latest hearing. (ABC News: Billy Cooper). He's been weeping for a long time, but He won't be weeping when these perverts stand before Him.
More than 20 per cent of the members of some Catholic religious orders — including Marist Brothers and Christian Brothers — were allegedly involved in child sexual abuse, a royal commission hearing in Sydney has been told.
Nearly 2,000 Catholic Church figures, including priests, religious brothers and sisters, and employees, were identified as alleged perpetrators in a report released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
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The hearing is examining the current policies and procedures of the church's authorities in Australia relating to child protection and child safety standards, as well as their response to allegations of abuse.
In her opening address, Gail Furness SC said a survey revealed 4,444 allegations of incidents of abuse between January 1980 and February 2015 were made to Catholic Church authorities.
Ms Furness said 60 per cent of all abuse survivors attending private royal commission sessions reported sexual abuse at faith-based institutions.
Of those, almost two-thirds reported abuse in Catholic institutions.
Proportion of non-ordained religious order members who were alleged perpetrators:
Religious institute Percentage
Brothers of St John of God 40.4
Christian Brothers 22.0
Salesians of Don Bosco 21.9
Marist Brothers 20.4
De La Salle Brothers 13.8
Patrician Brothers 12.4
Society of Jesus 4.8
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart 3.3
Sisters of St Joseph - Sacred Heart 0.6
Sisters of Mercy (Brisbane) 0.3
*Weighted figures for 1950 - 2010. Source: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
Please note: these figures only include recognized cases. The Brothers of St John of God dealt strictly with children with disabilities many of whom cannot or will not ever speak of what has been done to them. At least one expert, below, suggests the real number of perverts in the order may exceed 50%.
The royal commission's report found of the 1,880 alleged perpetrators from within the Catholic Church, 572 were priests.
Ms Furness described the victims' accounts as "depressingly similar".
Who are the Brothers of St John of God? - see below
Forty per cent of the members of the Brothers of St John of God had allegations of abuse made against them from 1950-2010.
"Children were ignored or worse, punished," she said.
"Allegations were not investigated. Priests and religious [figures] were moved. The parishes or communities to which they were moved knew nothing of their past.
"Documents were not kept, or they were destroyed. Secrecy prevailed as did cover-ups."
The average age of the victims at the time they were allegedly abused was 10 for girls and 11 for boys.
Religious orders were in the firing line with the data suggesting that between 1950 and 2010, more than 20 per cent of Marist Brothers, Salesians of the Don Bosco and Christian Brothers had allegations of child sexual abuse against them.
For the Brothers of St John of God, that number was 40.4 per cent.
It is the first time the data has been released.
'They give God a bad name'
Two daughters of Anthony and Chrissie Foster were abused. One has since died.
PHOTO: Anthony and Chrissie Foster gave a scathing assessment of the church. (ABC News: Philippa McDonald)
Outside the hearing, Ms Foster gave a scathing account of their treatment by the Catholic Church.
"The Catholic priesthood give God a bad name. They're a disgrace. They are unremorseful," she said.
"For so long this has been the way they acted to hide perpetrators, to move them on, with no regard for children whatsoever, that other children have become victims, and suffered this terrible fate.
"They have shown no mercy, no remorse. Nothing."
Figures 'tragic and indefensible'
One of the Catholic Church's most senior figures choked up as he acknowledged the abuse during the hearing.
Francis Sullivan from the church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council described the number as "shocking".
"They are tragic and they are indefensible," he said.
"Each entry in this data, for the most part represents a child who suffered at the hands of someone who should have cared for, and protected them."
Gail Furness SC delivered the opening address at this morning's hearing in Sydney
The Archbishops of Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra-Goulburn have congregated in Sydney to give evidence as part of the three-week public hearing.
Questions are expected to focus on the extent of child abuse over almost seven decades and what church leaders are doing to protect children.
This is the 50th public hearing of the four-year-long royal commission and it is the 16th dealing with abuse in the Catholic Church.
The royal commission has investigated how institutions across the country, including schools, churches, sports clubs and government organisations, have responded to allegations and instances of abuse.
Who are the Brothers of St John of God?
By Stephanie Anderson, ABC
PHOTO: In 2002, the order paid out $3.6 million to victims of abuse. (Brothers of St John of God)
This is certainly not meant to be funny - but this logo reminds me of a Christian being dropped into a pot of boiling water by a bunch of cannibals. Perhaps it is a fairly accurate depiction of the children as Christians and with the so-called Brothers of St John of God as the cannibals.
Forty per cent of the members of the Brothers of St John of God had allegations of child sexual abuse made against them from 1950 until 2010, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has revealed.
So who are the Brothers of St John of God (Australia)?
The Catholic order first came to Australia in 1947, establishing a special school for boys with learning difficulties at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.
They then opened schools at Cheltenham and Greensborough in Victoria, as well as a training farm at Lilydale.
Despite the similar name, the organisation is not linked to the Sisters of St John of God.
Obviously, the Sisters of St John of God want to make that abundantly clear.
Dozens of boys at institutions run by the Brothers of St John of God have made allegations of abuse.
In 2002, the order admitted 24 boys and men with disabilities were abused in three homes in Victoria, and the order paid $3.6 million in compensation to the victims.
Bernard Barrett from the abuse victims' support group Broken Rites said he had spoken to dozens of victims of abuse within the order.
"They were providing services generally for disadvantaged people,
orphans and other vulnerable people," he said.
"They were often residential institutions, and many of the victims there had no relatives to come and see them.
"And so, it was open season."
'Full extent of abuse not known, many victims remain silent'
Dr Barrett said he was not surprised by the proportion of brothers who had abuse allegations made against them.
"I wouldn't have been surprised if it was more than half of them," he said.
"Those figures given out today were purely the official complaints that have been recognised.
"Most victims of the Catholic Church remained silent,
they don't go and ring the police, they remain silent
until their lives break down.
"Many of them remained silent until the grave."
A former nun told the ABC's 7.30 program in 2012 of a culture of cover up within the Brothers of St John of God.
A spokesman for the order referred the ABC to the statement from Francis Sullivan, the head of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council.
Senior Catholic leaders will continue giving evidence to the royal commission over the next three weeks.
Who was St John of God?
John of God, the founder of this religious Order, was born 8 March 1495 at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal. Twice he enlisted in the Spanish army against the French and later the Turks.
After years of living a highly religious way of life in Spain resulting from a conversion experience, in 1535 he founded his first hospital at Granada, where he served the sick and afflicted.
Sounds like a 16th century male Mother Theresa. The great man must be horrified to have his name associated with such blatant evil.
After ten years spent in the exercise of charity, he died 8 March 1550, of pneumonia, after he had plunged into a river to save a young man from drowning.
He was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690 and was declared the patron saint of the dying and of all hospitals by Pope Leo XIII in 1898. - Wikipedia
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