Sunday, March 18, 2012

Church has nothing to hide, says Archbishop Hart

The Church in Melbourne has nothing to hide from an independent inquiry into its handling of sexual abuse allegations under the Melbourne Response, Archbishop Denis Hart has told The Age.

Archbishop Hart said he was confident any independent inquiry into its Melbourne Response protocol would confirm this.

But he declined to welcome an inquiry - saying he could not do so until he saw the terms of reference - or to comment on the handling of complaints before the protocol was introduced in 1996.

''We are not dodging for cover and hiding,'' he said. ''The archdiocese has always been very open and transparent in these matters.''

Archbishop Hart was responding to recommendations in last month's Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children report.

Justice Philip Cummins said the state government should hold a formal inquiry into how religious organisations handled abuse and apply mandatory reporting to priests and church workers, apart from the confessional.

Archbishop Hart said he welcomed the opportunity to engage with the government on the important issues raised in the report. 

Any investigation would show that ''all except a handful of complainants have had their complaints upheld, received an apology and accepted the compensation offered to them''.