Church sex sorrow doubted

  Norman Johnston, a former Clontarf boy and prominent campaigner over child abuse by the Catholic Church in WA [Western Australian], said the apology came too late.
  He said it was strange that Australia's Anglican Primate and Archbishop of Perth Peter Carnley had apologised this week when he had admitted to knowing of four cases of child abuse during 20 years he had served in Perth.
  Mr Johnston said the real reason for the apology was because the Church feared child abuse by clergy could become subject to a royal commission.
  "Dr Carnley has already known of four cases -- why is an apology suddenly needed now?" Mr Johnston said.
  "We believe this move is more inspired by the Church's lawyers than by any move of conscience."
  Mr Johnston questioned Dr Carnley's recent comments about claims by Estelle Thomas, of Perth, that she had been abused as a child by a man who later became an Anglican priest.
  In The West Australian yesterday, Dr Carnley said the priest concerned was aged more than 70 and past retirement so the claim was a police matter.
  Mr Johnston said the case should always have been a police matter irrespective of age or employment.
  "If he has abused people he should be handed over whether he is 21 or 70," he said.
  Mr Johnston said there was a widespread attitude in religious organisations in Australia that abuse allegations could be handled in-house and not by police.
  He wanted a royal commission into all forms of child abuse within all religious organisations in Australia.
  He also wanted churches to pay for independently sourced counselling services to victims.
  "I don't think abused children should be sent back to the abusers," he said.
  "I could never go back to the Catholic Church for counselling for what the Christian Brothers did to me."
  Child sex abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston, of no relation to Mr Johnston, welcomed Dr Carnley's "sorry" statement issued from a general synod meeting in Perth on Sunday.
  She said the apology was obviously prompted by the furore surrounding Governor-General Peter Hollingworth over his failure to act on abuse allegations while archbishop of Brisbane.
  Ms Johnston said it was now up to the Anglican Church to take action to support victims of child sex abuse, not merely apologise.

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