Safeguarding
The Catholic Diocese of Sale recognises its responsibility in relation to the abuse of children in its care.
If you or somebody that you know believe they were abused as a child by clergy, religious or church personnel in the Diocese of Sale, entitlement to redress may be available via three alternative avenues. These are the National Redress Scheme, Pathways Victoria and Civil Litigation.
Additionally, a personal pastoral apology from the Diocese is available, if required.
A key recommendation from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was the establishment of a National Redress Scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
Under this government operated scheme (which started on 1st July 2018 and will run for 10 years), an application can be made for a monetary payment, counselling and psychological support and a personal response. Under this Scheme, the Catholic Diocese of Sale will meet the costs of redress as determined by an independent assessor.
Redress is not compensation, rather it is a way of addressing the hurt and harm by providing support to help people move forward in a way that is right for them.
For a list of support services or how you can make an application, please visit the National Redress website or call 1800 737 377
The Pathways Victoria model has been adopted as a mechanism for the Catholic Dioceses of Victoria for assessing and responding to complaints of child abuse. It replaces the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing processes that have been in place for the last 25 years. It commenced on 1 Jan 2022.
In this model, survivors are listened to, acknowledged, compensated and offered support. There is no financial cap for compensation / redress. For those who seek it, survivors have an opportunity to reconnect spiritually, with the restoration of links with the Church community.
The Pathways Victoria model extends the scope of abuse to those who have suffered physical abuse or adult boundary violation. The Pathways Victoria model provides an alternative option to the National Redress Scheme which is confined only to child sexual abuse. It also offers an alternative to civil litigation.
The Pathways Victoria model is the way in which the Catholic Dioceses of Victoria implement the National Response Protocol which is the framework for Catholic entities across Australia to respond consistently to people raising concerns or allegations of child sexual abuse.
Survivors of child sexual abuse sometimes prefer to pursue a claim for damages through the legal process involving the Victorian Law Courts. Those who choose to select this option are recommended to obtain their own legal representation and the Diocese will also engage lawyers.