Bishops ‘very slow to change’ in confronting abuse, says lay leader of Catholic commission

August 16, 2017

The head of the Australian bishops’ commission on sexual abuse has said that she fears the Church has been only “partially cleansed and unreconstructed” despite months of intense public scrutiny.

“I don’t see any sign that the lessons have been truly learned to the point where the institution of the Church is being questioned by those who’ve got the ability to change it,” said Elizabeth Proust, who chairs the independent Truth, Justice, and Healing council established by the Australian hierarchy. She voiced her concern that the Australian bishops are expecting to resume “business as usual” once the furor generated by a royal commission’s investigation finally dies down.

Proust indicated that she has complaints against the Church on other grounds as well, saying that the Church is “an institution that’s been very slow to change on a whole range of issues,” and criticizing the structure of the hierarchy as “medieval.”

 

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Further information:

• Catholic Church unlikely to change, abuse review head Elizabeth Proust says (ABC-Aust)