<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/25/reforms-needed-after-horrendous-catholic-church-approach-in-paedophile-priest-cases-lawyers-say>
"Lawyers for two Indigenous abuse survivors have called for reforms to address
the “horrendous” Catholic church strategy of seeking to permanently block cases
where alleged paedophile priests have died.
On Wednesday, the church was successful in permanently blocking a claim made by
two Indigenous survivors relating to alleged abuse committed by David Joseph
Perrett, an Armidale assistant priest and convicted child abuser, whose crimes
the church has known about since 1995.
Perrett died in 2020, awaiting trial for alleged abuse against 40 children,
including the two Indigenous men, who alleged they were molested by Perrett in
1976 during a camping trip from their Aboriginal mission in Armidale.
The Indigenous men sought civil compensation through the courts five months
after Perrett’s death, but the church on Wednesday obtained permanent stays,
preventing their cases from going to trial. They successfully argued the death
of Perrett and other witnesses meant it could no longer obtain the material it
needed to prepare a defence and fairly participate in the trial, despite
allegations from the survivors’ lawyers that it had ample opportunity to
anticipate and prepare for civil claims while Perret was alive.
The diocese has known he was a convicted child abuser since 1995, heard a
confession from Perrett that he was a paedophile in 2016, and knew of more
criminal charges against him in 2017, three years before his death. Those
charges included the allegations made by the two Indigenous men who later sued,
though the church says it was oblivious to their identity.
An investigation by the
Guardian earlier this year revealed the church and
other institutions are now routinely seeking permanent stays where perpetrators
have died, a strategy widely condemned – including by the former head of the
church’s response to the royal commission, Francis Sullivan – as a moral
failing, a failure of leadership and another layer of abuse for survivors.
Plaintiff lawyers say the threat of permanent stays is also being used during
settlement negotiations to force survivors to accept paltry sums or risk having
their cases halted permanently by the courts."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
