Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said the crimes committed by former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders were a “a betrayal of everything the Gospel and the Catholic Church stand for”. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
After a trial that ran for more than three weeks, a District Court of Western Australia jury on August 13 found Saunders, 76, was guilty of sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men.
In a statement released on Friday, Archbishop Costelloe said the crimes of abuse committed by Saunders were “a violation of the human dignity of victims and survivors and a complete betrayal of their trust: these crimes deserve the strongest condemnation”.
Reiterating current Broome Bishop Tim Norton SVD’s pastoral letter, released after the guilty verdict, Archbishop Costelloe said “the victims, the survivors and other witnesses have shown great courage, commitment and resilience through a long and difficult process”.
“The Catholic community in Broome, and more widely in Western Australia and the rest of our nation, owes them a great debt of gratitude,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“While the horrors of abuse occur in secret, it is the courage of those who bring these horrors into the open which enables accountability and, through that accountability, the beginning of healing.
“The persistence of the Western Australia Police Force in pursuing this matter has also been a key element in bringing this matter to trial and opening up the possibility for healing to begin.
Archbishop Costelloe said Australia’s bishops “join Bishop Norton in his apology to all those who have been a part of this terrible story”.
He said Saunders’ crimes were offences against both the civil law and the law of the Church.
“The Church’s own legal processes, necessarily suspended once the police investigation had begun, continued when the police indicated they were not in a position to proceed,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“These processes were suspended again once the police, partly on the basis of the Church’s investigations which were made available to them, were able to re-instate their formal enquiries.
“With the conclusion of the trial, the Church’s investigation can now recommence. Decisions about the position of the former bishop of Broome in the Church will therefore be determined by Rome.”
FULL STORY
Statement from the President on the Christopher Saunders case (ACBC Media Blog)
