Positive Hope for Change for Victims and Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse with Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensole - A Survivors First Impressions : By Mairead Ashcroft 31/7/18

Yesterday was Archbishop Peter Comensoli's first official day in Melbourne in his position as

Melbourne's ninth Archbishop of the Catholic Church after replacing Archbishop Hart, a very unpopular and destructive representative as far as Survivors and Advocates are concerned . On his first day, Archbishop Peter chose to prioritize a one and a half hour, emphathic meeting with six survivors and their support people as his first duty in his role as Archbishop of Melbourne.

Directly following his meeting with the survivors, was a meeting in which I was involved. Members consisted of six Advocates who have strong knowledge about the Melbourne Archdiocese and are able to offer reliable information about how childhood sexual abuse/rape, and victim disrespect, neglect and everything else, can and does perpetuate within the archdiocese and how drastic change needs to be made. We likened the Melbourne Archdiocese to a Hotel filled with rats with fleas and beds with bed bugs that needs complete fumigation. Our small, but well-informed group consisted of,

 1) Clergy member Fr Kevin Dillon, founder of Lifeboat who raises funds to assist with basic food, rent and life costs, pastoral care, counselling referrals and other supporting needs for survivors who are doing it tough. Lifeboat was given it's name because as far as Fr Dillon was concerned, if the church was the ship, the life boat had gone done with the ship and needed to be resurrected in a completely new format. Fr Dillon has daily conversations with survivors, personally checking on their well being. He also does his best to find financial aid through donations to provide rent payments, food stocks and much more for survivors struggling to navigate life while managing the effects of the trauma of child hood sexual abuse recovery processing.  

 2) David O'Brien, Barrister and retired Parliamentarian who was on the Committee of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Institutional Abuse. He then went on to speak in the Royal Commission about his findings. He continues to work for survivors in close association with Fr Kevin Dillon. He knows all of the facts and figures off the top of his head and is a great asset to Advocates.

3) Helen Last, Founder of In Good Faith Foundation, previously a Catholic Church worker, shone a spotlight on hidden knowledge that lifted the lid on wide spread corruption and abuse. She has spent  many years assisting survivors and fighting for justice for other,  while facing strong persecution for her brave and selfless fortitude. In Good Faith offers Trauma counselling and support and many other services for survivors

4) Jim Boyle, CEO In Good Faith and Melbourne Victims Collective has, like Helen,  continuously witnessed survivors being denied their rights of free speech, honesty and basic human rights by the church. It is not uncommon for victims of childhood sexual abuse to suicide and/or perform self-harming behaviors as a coping mechanism while trying to deal with the trauma experience by them as children/teens and the effects that that trauma has had on their present. Sadly, Jim came to know this reality all to personally on the day his brother died, another victim of this awful plague.The Melbourne Victims Collective is linked to In Good Faith Foundation.

5) Retired Psychologist, past seminarian who trained at Corpus Christi Werribee for 4 years and my dear and personal friend, Bob Monro, is founder of  For the Innocents, a group of ex and current clergy  and lay people and survivors. For the Innocents wish to not only make radical systemic changes within the culture, politics and running of the Catholic church, but also support the proactive and caring religious people, ordained or lay people, who are also deeply devastated by the treatment of survivors and their supporters by the Hierarchy within the Catholic Church.

   

6)  I was the only Primary Victim in the group, (directly abused as a child). I work as a Trauma Informed Counsellor, Art Therapist and Animal Assisted Psychotherapist with my soulful little Therapy Dog Moon Shadow. I became involved with For the Innocents seven years ago, thirteen years into my independent fight for justice, when I was the Victorian coordinator of Survivors Australia, a National support network for survivors of Clergy abuse. Survivors Australia, founded by dynamic survivor Nikki Wells, is no longer in existence. Since meeting the people from the groups mentioned above I have become stronger and wiser by association. During my long and hurtful battles, the church attempted to lay the guilt and responsibility of my abuse as a child at my feet. I independently learned to navigate the systems of both the Melbourne Archdioceses and the Victorian legal system to become one of the "fortunate" few to have my abuser/rapist sentenced. Br. Bernard Joseph Hartman, found guilty for abusing only three survivors by a jury, sadly not more, resides with an American order, the Marianists, and still retains his religious. He is on the USA Sexual Crimes Registry due to my persistence but sadly under a lay mans title. This inconsistency needs to change at both Global Government and Vatican level. 

Members of our small group of warriors have all known each other for at least seven years or so and
as you can see are a formidable bunch. We are a small group of many around the parishes of the world. People are speaking up and we hope that today may be taken as a sign that we might be heard. All in our group are survivors of abuse from the Catholic Church directly and/or indirectly, either having a family member abused or having been abused through the disillusionment of faith and persecution for coming forward about the sad state of affairs that is the current Institution of the Catholic Church. Despite this, we will to continue to fight for  the safety of children and vulnerable adults who may become future or are present victims. We will support and find retribution, justice and ongoing care, compassion and understanding for those who have survived horrendous physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual and sexual abuse at the hands of clergy and lay people while under the care of the Catholic Church and try to put a stop to the processes that allow cover-ups, lies and the shifting of blame, and offenders, for these most sickening of crimes. Today we were given the chance to have an introduction to open dialogue about these and other items. To say it was quite emotionally charged is an understatement.   

The group had a pre-meeting meeting, “THE” meeting and then a post meeting meeting. It was a productive day.  We discussed the corruption, mishandling of power and flat out lies and cruelty that is going on within the hierarchy of the church by it's silence and distinct lack of public pastoral and practical action. There were no polite P and Q's, all straight talk. Archbishop Peter listened carefully and took notes like a student who was hungry for information.    

I can see our group as being very productive in making good things happen if all goes to plan, but I must say, “once bitten twice shy”. My trust is something that needs to be earned, it is not readily given, especially when it comes to the Institution of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Peter seems genuine enough. I call a spade a spade and told him straight out that I don't accept lip service. I asked him how he felt about his previous meeting with the survivors and where it was sitting in his body now. 

I have met many human looking robots within the church and so far I don’t think that Archbishop Peter is one of them, but then again, isn’t that the power of a master manipulator.  Please excuse my paranoia but I have been burnt too many times to readily stick my hands into a flame again. I don't envy his position at all, but then again, I don't imagine that anyone would envy what I have been through either. I see yesterday as a positive first step,

a steps towards positive change. But I need to see action. I warned Archbishop that if I don't see movement, soon, I will not be wasting my time on empty words.. Yesterday was Archbishop Peters first day on the job. and I was quite firm with him. He shared that he truly wants find solutions to the mess that he has inherited and asked me to let him show me what he could do. I asked him to shake on it and he was happy to do so. No kissing rings with this guy. He introduced himself as “Just a guy from the Gong” (Woolongong) and I think that is who we met yesterday. A guy with a sense of humor and also a sense of sincerity. Time will tell.

Archbishop Peter Comensoli has been willing to open a dialogue and I hope that this will have a ripple effect within parishes not only within  Melbourne but across Victoria and Australia. By showing his example of raising the topic of Clergy abuse at a systemic level and not just a couple of bad apples and by being transparent about the corruption that has been at epidemic levels for many, many decades, if not centuries, we may actually stop the Catholic Church from being the Pedophile and Hebephile (adolescent) magnet that it is today. 

Live Your Bilss

Mairead