Catholic Church paid out $276m over child sexual abuse claims, royal commission hears
Updated
The Catholic Church has paid more than $276 million in claims to thousands of victims of child sexual abuse, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.
Close to 4,500 people made claims for alleged incidents of child sexual abuse between January 1980 and February 2015, but the earliest incidents reported to a claim were in the 1920s.
Counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, told the Sydney hearing that figure included compensation, treatment, legal and other costs.
Of the total amount, $258.8 million was monetary compensation of about $91,000 per claim.
"The Christian Brothers who, at the relevant time operated a number of residential facilities, reported the highest number of payments," Ms Furness told the hearing.
"This order made 763 payments, amounting to $48.5 million, with an average payment of $64,000.
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"Overall Catholic Church authorities paid $276.1 million in response to claims of child sexual abuse received between January 1, 1980 and February 28, 2015."
The hearing heard the most common institution type identified in claims was schools: they were identified in 46 per cent of all claims, and children's orphanages or residential facilities were identified in 29 per cent of claims.
The highest number of claims of child sexual abuse concerned a residential care facility operated by the De La Salle Brothers in Queensland, with 219 claims relating to the facility.
Earlier, Francis Sullivan from the Truth, Justice and Healing Council told the hearing to look at the context of the times.
He said things are very different now, and that parents should be aware that their children are in safe hands at Catholic schools.
Top 20 Catholic bodies by total compensation payments
| No. of payments | Total amount ($m) | Average payment ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Brothers | 763 | 48.5 | 64,000 |
| De La Salle Brothers | 227 | 34.8 | 153,000 |
| Marist Brothers | 286 | 31.3 | 109,000 |
| Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle | 128 | 26.6 | 208,000 |
| Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney | 84 | 17.2 | 204,000 |
| Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne | 323 | 16.8 | 52,000 |
| Missionaries of the Sacred Heart | 67 | 15.2 | 227,000 |
| Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart | 9 | 8.1 | 901,000 |
| Hospitaller Order of St John of God | 57 | 7.4 | 130,000 |
| Jesuits - Society of Jesus | 22 | 5.7 | 257,000 |
| Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide | 54 | 5.2 | 96,000 |
| Diocese of Ballarat | 98 | 5 | 51,000 |
| Patrician Brothers - Congregation of the Brothers of St Patrick | 23 | 4.8 | 210,000 |
| Marist Fathers - Society of Mary | 32 | 3.1 | 96,000 |
| Vincentians - The Congregation of the Mission | 28 | 3.7 | 132,000 |
| Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane | 88 | 3 | 34,000 |
| Diocese of Parramatta | 21 | 2.5 | 117,000 |
| Diocese of Toowoomba | 14 | 2.6 | 187,000 |
| Salesians of Don Bosco | 57 | 2.5 | 43,000 |
| Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and PNG | 95 | 2.1 | 22,000 |
ABC/Reuters
Topics: royal-commissions, law-crime-and-justice, child-abuse, sexual-offences, catholic, religion-and-beliefs, sydney-2000
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