Catholic Church Joins Child Abuse Compensation Plan

Pope Francis

Australia’s Catholic Church has indicated it interest to contribute to redress scheme for child abuse victims by the Government in Australia.

This scheme pushes for victims of sexual abuse as children by church figures are compensated and also to puts pressure on other institutions to follow suit.

A 3.8 billion Australian dollar (£2.2 billion) national plan will, on Wednesday, be signed by the country’s Catholic bishops and leaders of its religious orders.

The church estimates it will itself be liable for about one billion dollars (£568 million) in compensation, being the first non-government institution to opt into the plan.

Dan Tehan, the minister for Federal Social Services wants more institutions to follow, saying there could be further announcements as early as Thursday.

Philip Wilson the Archbishop of Adelaide, last week, became the most senior Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse.

He faces a potential two-year prison term when he appears in court in June to be sentenced for protecting a paedophile priest in the 1970s.