No-one answers for abuse failure

Toowoomba. December 2009. Abuse failure. No-one answers - Parents try the legal process in an attempt to obtain justice as a last resort in a failed system

Toowoomba, Queensland Australia December 3, 2009

Catholic abuse of children can continue unabated in Australia. Queensland police ignore our laws as their religious play their part in the cover-up of the sexual abuse of our children a Queensland police officer stated recently when presented with evidence of a cover up "we do not investigate the catholic church".

re: No-one answers for abuse failure

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2009/12/03/no-one-answers-for-abuse-failure/

There is no surprise here in regard this. Some simple research will show you that this is the way it has been done in many overseas countries and here in Australia for generations.

When there are 2 sets of law in operation (this fact is not reported) then the bishops' investigation is firstly made on the basis of the Catholic church Canon law (the Magistrate seems to be under the impression that the bishops investigation was conducted under the rules of our law -this is not so). The Canon law of the Church says that all involved in such investigations/crimes must keep these crimes a secret (Decree Crimen - versions available include original English and original Latin.). The bishops investigation found that there had been compliance with church law in that every attempt had been made to keep these crimes a secret.

Those being investigated are advised that they are bound to secrecy by church law and can be excommunicated if they breach this secrecy obligation it is only then that they are advised that they can choose to go to police - this same blackmail procedure was made to me by Peter O'Callaghan the Commissioner in Melbourne recently exposed undertaking similar activities by warning pedophile priests that they were under investigation by state authorities http://www.theage.com.au/national/second-priest-in-sex-claim-tipoff-20091202-k6b6.html  Melbourne Age December 3, 200.

Naturally the bishops' investigation found a positive result and this was reported and published (no mention of which set of laws the bishops' investigation was carried out under - the population assumes this is carried out under our state law). Bishops, priests and Catholic education administrators and other church hierarchy are bound firstly under the law of the church i.e. the demand to keep secret these abuses.

While this abhorrent law remains active within the church the next child and subsequent children to be abused will be failed yet again due to the same circumstances. Catholic children are not afforded the same protection as children in state run schools as one would expect, they are firstly bound by church law (the demand to keep these crimes a secret) this is why Catholic children have a better than 40% greater chance of being sexually abused in their school environment than in the equivalent state school system. When the right for "mental reservation" is included church hierarchy are sanctioned to lie to authorities.

The  Decree Crimen states quite clearly that these crimes must be kept a secret - this is in conflict and in direct opposition to our state laws, it is in contravention of our Constitution, this is in violation of our obligations under the Universal declaration of Human Rights as well as our obligations when Australia signed the Rights of the Child agreement. The Decree Crimen is a global statute of the church demanding secrecy in regards sexual crimes - this is one of many reasons why the church is unable to provide a global policy in regards the protection and safety of its women and children as well as their signing of the Rights of the Child as they agreed to some 15 years ago. To sign these types of agreements is in direct opposition to the Decree and laws of the church. While this folly continues to exist in its current format nothing will have changed within the church or with its procedures. The next sexual crime against children will be dealt with in the same way by the church and its hierarchy despite the fact that the general population sees these activities as criminal activities they are fully sanctioned and supported by the church. Amazingly and yet unsurprisingly catholic police and politicians can be and are at times bound by the same church laws of secrecy - Tony Abbott would be a good example along with several police commissioners and investigators although they would be sanctioned to lie convincingly under this system.

While we permit these 2 sets of diametrically opposed laws to remain in existence and while church law precedes state law there will be a continuing stream of sexually abused children not only here in Toowoomba but across the entire country. Will the Chronicle and other recipients support an investigation into the Decree Crimen and associated church documents and procedures as part of their obligation to inform the public of this danger to our children or are they bound under the same criminal church law?

The existence of these Canon laws is clear evidence of criminal activity and of actions and intent to pervert the course of justice as well as aiding and abetting the criminal acts of the rape of women, children and the vulnerable.

There never will be anyone to answer for these crimes while church law precedes or over-rides state law - no child anywhere can be considered safe under these circumstances - more so when children are exposed to this danger in Catholic education facilities through this blackmail and abuse of our Constitution and our legal and political systems.

Ask your local law enforcement and local newspapers to support a public meeting to explain what the authorities are doing in regards this issue as well as asking them how they are co-ordinating with other law enforcement across the country and across the world in response to this global issue. Those of you who encounter a refusal can be assured that you have encountered the same situation which has existed in Ireland as shown by the most recent government report (Murphy report) from there [Priests, police hid years of child sex abuse http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/28/2754987.htm?section=world ] - if you encounter rejection from local authorities, community leaders, and politicians you are left with the responsibility to set about getting together with others by doing it yourself as without that nothing will be done - which is the very thing we currently have.

Ask your local member to write to the church and to other authorities. Ask them to explain to the church that according to our Constitution and our law the privilege for a religion to operate in our country is determined by its obedience to our law. For the church to operate in Australia it firstly must be in compliance with our laws. If it then has issues with our laws it should be free to take those matters up, however it must first be in compliance before it can legitimately operate here. Ask your law enforcement and political leaders to uphold our Constitution and our law before theirs or anyone else's religion. Ask them to uphold our obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a host of other legal and moral obligations.

Currently the pursuit of victims remains high in religious, police and health communities with more than 60% of those who report to authorities or clergy will be re abused in some manner - often sexually. It is from this group that the highest suicide rate of any demographic is found consistently across the country. Clergy abuse victims when they begin to speak out are repeatedly involuntarily hospitalised and forcibly treated in mental health institutions under the guise of being mentally disturbed due to their attempt to speak out in regards the abuses they experienced as children. We no longer permit this group of people to be burned at the stake or to have their tongues cut out or imprisoned for a lifetime - however we permit and condone this type of complicit involvement due most often to the perceived needs of individuals and groups to uphold the good name of the single largest ever identified group of pedophiles on the face of the planet.

The choice is simple enough. Live with it or ask our authorities to address this issue appropriately under our existing laws. If our laws are insufficient then ask them to change them so that they specifically achieve an appropriate solution.

Canon law requires each diocese to have a secret archive, and only the bishop is to have access. The secret archives hold documents that would cause the diocese great embarrassment, such as alleged crimes by its priests. Every diocese is required to maintain a secret archive.