An
inquiry in Australia finds that seven percent of Catholic priests were
accused of abusing children from 1950-2010 but the Catholic church never
investigated the claims (AFP Photo/ANDREAS SOLARO)
Sydney
(AFP) - Seven percent of Catholic priests were accused of abusing
children in Australia between 1950 and 2010 but the allegations were
never investigated, "shocking and indefensible" data showed Monday
during an inquiry into paedophilia in the church.
The
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
heard that 4,444 alleged incidents of pedophilia were reported to church
authorities and in some dioceses, more than 15 percent of priests were
perpetrators.
Australia
ordered the Royal Commission in 2012 after a decade of growing pressure
to investigate allegations of child abuse across the country, with the
inquiry now in its final phase after four years of hearings.
"Between
1950 and 2010, overall seven percent of priests were alleged
perpetrators," said Gail Furness, the lawyer leading questioning at the
inquiry in Sydney.
"The
accounts were depressingly similar. Children were ignored or worse,
punished. Allegations were not investigated. Priests and religious
(figures) were moved," she added.
"The
parishes or communities to which they were moved knew nothing of their
past. Documents were not kept or they were destroyed. Secrecy prevailed
as did cover ups."
The average age of the victims at the time was 10 for girls and 11 for boys.
Of the 1,880 alleged perpetrators, 90 percent were men.
The St John of God Brothers religious order was the worst, with just over 40 percent of members accused of abuse.
The
commission has spoken to thousands of survivors and heard claims of
child abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups
and schools.
The church in Australia set up the Truth, Justice and Healing Council to coordinate its response.
"These numbers are shocking, they are tragic, they are indefensible," its chief executive Francis Sullivan told the commission.
"This
data, along with all we have heard over the past four years, can only
be interpreted for what it is: a massive failure on the part of the
Catholic Church in Australia to protect children from abusers.
"As Catholics we hang our heads in shame."
The
inquiry has embroiled Australia's most senior Catholic cleric George
Pell, now the Vatican's finance chief, who was questioned over his
dealings with paedophile priests in Victoria state in the 1970s.
Pell
was also accused of historic sex abuse claims when he was the Catholic
Archbishop of Sydney in 2002, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
He has denied all allegations.
Since
being set up, the commission has made over 300 referrals to police but
so far there have only been 27 prosecutions with 75 cases pending.