The Catholic Church in Victoria

Updates

As part of our commitment to being open and transparent, we will provide here information to help keep the community updated about the Inquiry, its report Betrayal of Trust and the response of the Victorian government to its recommendations.

Listed below are updates about the Inquiry, its report and recommendations and the response of the Catholic Church in Victoria.

Child Grooming
16 December 2013

The Victorian Government has responded quickly to a key recommendation contained in Betrayal of Trust, the report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations. It has introduced a Bill into Parliament to make it an offence to groom a child, their family or carer to facilitate sexual abuse of the child.

The Catholic Church in Victoria welcomes the introduction of the grooming offence as an important initiative to protect children and as a deterrent to sexual predators. We are committed to working constructively with government to assist in its implementation.

A person will commit the offence of grooming if they are 18 years of age or older and communicate with a child under 16, their family or with a person having care, supervision or authority in respect of the child, with the intention to facilitate involving the child in a sexual offence.

The offence will apply to any communication which occurs with the intention of making it easier to engage or involve the child in a sexual offence. It will apply to grooming through personal contact, use of the internet or any other means.

Proof that any sexual abuse has occurred or been attempted is not required.

The offence has a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

The Bill will be debated when the Parliament resumes in 2014. It can be accessed here and the second reading speech of the Attorney General when introducing the Bill on 12 December 2013 can be accessed here.

24 April 2013

The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry has published the details of organisations that will attend hearings next week, 29 April, 30 April and 3 May as witnesses to the Inquiry. The schedule includes several Catholic organisations.

Monday 29 April, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House

10.00am - 12.00pm St John of God Brothers
1.00pm - 2.00pm Salesians
2.15pm - 4.15pm Ballarat Diocese

Tuesday 30 April, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House

10.00am - 12.00pm Independent Commissioners, Melbourne Response
1.00pm - 2.00pm Catholic Church Insurance

Friday 3 May, Legislative Council Committee Room, Parliament House

10.00am - 12.00pm Christian Brothers
1.00pm - 3.00pm Towards Healing
4.15pm - 5.15pm Compensation Panel, Melbourne Response

Further details and any updates to this schedule - http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/fcdc/article/1786

Child abuse Inquiry reporting deadline extended
18 February 2013

The Chair of the Family and Community Development Committee, Ms Georgie Crozier, MP which is conducting the Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations has announced an extension to the reporting deadline from 30 April to 30 September 2013. Ms Crozier has stated that it will hear from representatives from organisations over the coming months after further investigations have been completed. The Catholic Church is cooperating fully with the Inquiry as it undertakes its investigations. The Catholic Church has not yet been advised when it will be called to appear before the Inquiry.

Click here to read full statement.

Catholic Church calls for legislative change to mandatory and police reporting
26 November 2012

The Catholic Church in Victoria is calling for the implementation of its proposals for mandatory reporting by ministers of religion, and for a new protocol for reporting offenders to police that protects the privacy of victims who want anonymity.

A copy of Archbishop Denis Hart’s statement is available here.

Announcement of Royal Commission

The Family and Community Development Committee has released the following comments regarding the announcement of the Royal Commission.

12 November
From a spokesperson for the Committee

“The Premier has tonight released a statement saying that the Victorian Government will work to appropriately bring together the work of the Victorian Parliamentary Committee’s inquiry and the federal inquiry.”

“The Committee has already undertaken a significant amount of work and until we receive further detail of the Commonwealth’s approach, we will continue to progress our work on this important issue.”

A copy of the statement of the Premier is available here.

13 November
From Ms Georgie Crozier MP, Committee Chair

“The Inquiry’s work thus far has brought to light important revelations that have been key to the Federal Government deciding to call a royal commission.”

“From our part, a significant amount of work has already been undertaken and there is more we can achieve but we obviously need further detail of the federal inquiry including its terms of reference before making any changes to our work.”

National Royal Commission
13 November 2012

The President and Permanent Committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, on behalf of the Australian Bishops, have indicated in a statement released last night that they support the Prime Minister’s announcement of a Royal Commission into child sex abuse in Australia.

Read complete statement here.

Further public hearings
9 November 2012

The Family and Community Development Committee has announced the following hearing dates in November for its Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations:

Friday, 9 November – full day of hearings
Monday, 12 November – half day of hearings
Friday, 23 November – full day of hearings
Monday, 26 November – half day of hearings

Hearings will be open to the public and held in the Legislative Council Committee Room on Level 1 at Parliament House. Hearings are also to be held in regional areas of Victoria.

Details of witnesses to appear before the Committee will be posted on the Inquiry website.

Hearings are planned up until just before Christmas 2012 and will begin again in January 2013.

Further hearing dates and locations for public hearings will be announced by the Inquiry once all details have been confirmed.

No Church leaders have been invited to appear at this time.

Transcripts
Transcripts of the evidence given at the public hearings on 19 & 22 October are available on the Inquiry website.

Transcripts of the evidence to be given at the public hearings during November will be available on the Inquiry website when they have been checked by witnesses.

Frequently Asked Questions
The Inquiry has published answers to a number of frequently asked questions directed to the Inquiry which are available on the Inquiry website.

The FAQ’s deal with the process for acceptance and publication of submissions and how the Committee will respond to those who have registered an interest in appearing before the Committee.

It is a priority of the Committee to hear from anyone who has requested to give evidence and there have been more than 120 requests to date.

Acceptance and Publication of Facing the Truth submission
10 October 2012

The Family and Community Development Committee has published on its website, Facing the Truth, the submission of the Catholic Church in Victoria, to the Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations. Please click here to view the submission.

First Public Hearing Dates Announced
3 October 2012

The Family and Community Development Committee has announced the following hearing dates for its Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations:

Friday 19 October ‐ full day of hearings;
Monday 22 October ‐ half day of hearings, in the afternoon.

Both hearings will be open to the public and held in the Legislative Council Committee Room on level 1 at Parliament House.

Details of witnesses to appear before the Committee on these days will be posted on the Inquiry website closer to the hearing dates.

Please click on the link below to view the media release.

Media Release

21 September 2012

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, announced on behalf of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Victoria that today they would lodge the Church’s submission, Facing the Truth, to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations. “We will co-operate fully with the Inquiry,: he said, “and in Facing the Truth we have been open about the horrific abuse that has occurred in Victoria and elsewhere.” See media release.

Last updated: 17 December 2013