The Catholic Diocese of Ballarat has received 10 applications as part of the National Redress Scheme to date.
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It has also received a handful of duplicate applications, or applications that were redirected to other Catholic organisations which are not under diocese control, according to professional standards coordinator Michael Myers.
With the Vatican’s landmark summit on child protection to begin on Friday, the focus from outside is on concrete outcomes for survivors - Australia’s representative, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, described the abuse as a “universal challenge”.
“For me over the years, it’s been a journey from seeing abuse as a sin, to seeing it as a crime, and then finally seeing it as a culture,” he said in a video posted to Facebook.
“By which I mean that abuse and its cover up were aggravated and probably caused by cultural elements in the Catholic Church”
Across all Australian institutions, more than 2700 applications have been lodged, with 51 payments made to survivors, and 19 have been given offers.
The National Redress Scheme is unable to provide data broken down by region for privacy reasons.
The Anglican Diocese of Ballarat declined to provide any numbers.
Both dioceses were officially signed up to the scheme late last year, part of limited companies designed as a conduit between the scheme and the hundreds of separate diocese-controlled institutions.
The Redress Scheme is one option available for abuse survivors, who may also deal with the institutions directly, or go through the legal system - not all organisations are available from the National Redress Scheme website, as some have not yet signed up, while others are waiting for applications to be reviewed.
The Blue Knot Foundation helps survivors of childhood trauma, and chief executive, Dr Cathy Kezelman AM, said all Catholic orders that haven't yet signed up needed to “without delay”.
“The orders knew the scheme was starting for a long time and it has been running for nearly nine months, what is the delay? Survivors are still waiting. Some are dying,” she said.
“It is over time that all institutions take responsibility and participate in the National Redress Scheme. It is the least they can do under the circumstances.”
Need support? Phone the Blue Knot helpline on 1300 657 380 between 9am and 5pm, or email helpline@blueknot.com.au
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