The Commissioners view? 05:19, 2006-Jul-1

Responded this morning to a post at
http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/ritual_abuse_victim_responds/

Have been following this post for a while as it deals with The Commission setup by Pell in Melbourne. I wonder if The Church has yet called for a report from The Commissioner to gain his views on the process which is laid out for him to work within. All of us have to work within the guidelines set down for this Commission. Mr. O'Callaghan would surely be an appropriate person to create such a report. Naturally it should be an open hearing style process with the Commissioner presenting a public report as there is no other way to get this information out to current, past or undisclosed victims. I believe it should be a report which is delivered directly to the Churchs members - as in its congregation as they must surely have the desire to have some input into the hearing. This would not only be a democratic process it would show the Church has the desire to treat all victims and perpertraors and those affected by these many many abuses with the same degree of fairness - one that mirrors what one would expect through our established legal system.  If the Church fails to act in this way and continues with its current stance despite the many public criticisms of this process and despite the best knowledge on this topic in failing to follow or meet ethical guidelines that are the norm in psychological or psychiatric treatments. The Church itself as well as The Commissioner must have no doubt that the process does not provide suitable or adequate services commensurate with the degree of harm caused to involved individuals. In this area it fails totally and chooses to ignore that aspect. It also chooses to ignore or compensate for the loss of work in time, the loss inmany case of the actualability to work. To fail to support people through the process is something I believe that any thoughtful individual within the Church or any Catholic would find that action an abhorrant one.

There appears to be a form of arrogance perhaps in this stance. It is not a stance which allows the Church to act in the way it tries to teach us all how to act. There is no charity (and I feel none of us want charity, though many of us are desperately in need of it at times.)  in the current system and it fails in the area of the rights of the victims, acknowledgement of the problem and the fair treatment of human beings.

When the type of process is in place and is also ignored by Government and is ignored by The Prime Minister who can only be ignorant of the facts surrounding those people affected through these abuses - that is the only conclusion I can come to on that.

This is a genuine opportunity for the Church and for Government to get together with the people and the congregations and work out a fair and honest deal for those who have been put through what is acknowledged as one of the most psychologically harmful experiences we human beings can experience. Added to that is the undoubted fact that not one of those people abused as children actively sought out the experience or chose to be sexually abused. Each had been preyed upon by a member of the Church. In many cases these were priests and nuns - people in positions of authority and power.

There is no register of victims or any true accounting of them, they appear to be a great number of individuals who each in their own turn has to deal singularly with The Commission or selffund any legal representation. The Commision appears to not be empowered to provide this to victims, however it appears to be empowered to provide assistive measures to offenders.