Canonical implications of the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to child sexual abuse

Since the early 1980s the Church and society have been shocked and scandalised by incidents of child sexual abuse perpetrated by clerics and religious. During the past twenty years knowledge of sexual abuse has grown. With increased knowledge has come increased understanding of factors that affect offenders, that impact on the healing of victims. Church leaders in the church have not always responded well, to victims, to offenders and to communities. The Church has grown in understanding of how to respond to all who are affected by sexual abuse of children. Church and society continue to learn. In 1996, the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes published Towards Healing, Principles and Procedures in Responding to Complaints of Sexual Abuse against Personnel of the Catholic Church in Australia. The following year, they published Integrity in Ministry: A Document of Ethical Standards for Catholic Clergy and Religious in Australia. The former document presents the principles and procedures for responding to complaints of misconduct and sexual abuse. The latter document presents standards for life and ministry for clergy and religious. The Catholic Church in Australia responded to sexual abuse within the context of the Australian society, as did the church in each country. In presenting an overview of the response to child sexual abuse of both society and church in several countries besides Australia, the possibility exists not only for identifying similarities and differences, but also for understanding the reasons behind them. In the 1980s knowledge of the complexities of sexual abuse and its impact on victims was very limited. Likewise familiarity with the church's penal law and related procedures was limited because it had not been used to any great extent. Increased and new usage of both penal law and procedural law identified areas that caused problems. At the heart of the church's response to sexual abuse is the goal of responding to the dignity of the human person. Hopefully, identifying differences and problem areas will result in increased understanding and the upholding of the dignity of all people affected by sexual abuse