Media Release from The Greens NSW - Royal Commission Required into Church Sexual Abuse
31st July 2012 Updated 6th August 2012
Following further credible evidence released today suggesting senior members of the Catholic Church have failed to report child sexual assault to police, a Royal Commission is now required, according to Greens NSW MP and Justice spokesperson David Shoebridge. "A Royal Commission must now be urgently established to uncover the full extent of the Church's systemic failure to deal with decades of child sexual abuse committed by priests in dioceses in NSW," Mr Shoebridge said. "Both Premier O'Farrell and Attorney-General Greg Smith are refusing to act and in doing so are failing victims and their families across NSW. "The Premier has brushed off requests from the Greens for a NSW inquiry into allegations of child sexual abuse by religious and other organisations, pointing towards an inquiry underway in Victoria. "Child sexual abuse is clearly not a problem confined to Victoria, and the Victorian inquiry has already been hamstrung via inappropriate interventions from Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu. "It is now clear that the Church is not co-operating with police, and to date the NSW government has supported only an internal investigation by the Church into one case referred to as 'Father F'. "With the Church failing to co-operate with police and more and more evidence coming forward of the Church hierarchy not reporting known abuse to police, the government must act. "There are many good people in the Church now joining the call for a full, public and independent inquiry into the question of sexual abuse. "It is time for the NSW government to accept the reality of the matter and urgently institute a Royal Commission," Mr Shoebridge said. Media contact: Mark Riboldi (02) 9230 3030 or 0433 753 376 Read more on the Greens work on this issue at http://justiceforvictims.org.au Press Releases
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