The Royal Commission public hearing into the response of the Ballarat Diocese into allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy and religious continued in Melbourne this week.
The first part of this hearing was held in Ballarat in May 2015. This week the Commission has heard evidence from two survivor witnesses who appeared in Ballart in May. The Commission has also heard so far from former police officers and three priests who were advisors to Bishop Mulkearns. Another six clergy advisors are expected to give evidence before Cardinal Pell appears before the Commission next week.
You can read witness statements, transcripts and evidence on the Royal Commission website.
This week's Ballarat hearing is a sorry litany of one account after another of heads in the sand, of the reputation of the church taking precedence over powerless children and of police corruption.
And also this week AAP reports thousands of child sex abuse survivors expecting the Turnbull government to commit to a national redress scheme before Christmas face bitter disappointment.
AAP: Turnbull govt likely to delay redress response
This week AAP reports thousands of child sex abuse survivors expecting the Turnbull government to commit to a national redress scheme before Christmas face disappointment.
NSW and Victoria support a national scheme. South Australia doesn't. Other states are yet to commit. But the states have written to the Prime Minister asking him to clarify the Federal Government's position.
The Church supports a national scheme that will provide justice for victims. It will be transparent, independent of the Church and other institutions and relatively generous, given the burden of proof will be limited and victims who suffered at the hands of perpetrators who have died will still get access to compensation.
Melbourne's Yeshivah Centre has established an independent Redress Scheme to support victims of sexual abuse.
Launching the scheme this week, advocate and abuse victim Manny Waks said: "my presence here today should be viewed both as a stark reminder of the past, and an optimistic reflection on the future. A desire from all of us to move forward."
He said while there's a long way to go, "I believe that it's part of a generational change – it will take years to change the culture. But it won't happen in isolation. We need to be committed to this prolonged and challenging process. It will take commitment and resources. And all the positive developments that we're seeing are a critical part of this process.
Real-time background checks to help protect children from offenders
The South Australian Government announced this week that background screening checks will be exposed to continuous monitoring in an effort to further protect children and other vulnerable South Australians. Continuous screening will enable new offences to be identified on an ongoing basis instead of the current system which only provides a snapshot of a person's history at the start of the three-year lifespan of the clearance.
