Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia

The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Australia is part of the much wider Catholic sexual abuse scandals which are a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders.

As of August 2011, according to Broken Rites, a support and advocacy group for church-related sex abuse victims, there have been over 100 cases in Australia where Catholic priests have been charged for sex offences against minors, as well as others involving non-custodial sentences and inconclusive proceedings. There are also highly numerous cases involving members of religious orders (both priests and brothers) and lay teachers.

Other sources of concern in addition to the abuse itself were the failures of the Roman Catholic Church to prevent future abuse by clergy who had come to the attention of religious authorities (of dioceses, religious orders or schools), transferring clergy and religious to further opportunities for abuse, the handling of allegations of abuse and the continuing honouring within the church of known sex offenders. In 2012 a police report detailed 40 suicide deaths directly related to abuse by Catholic clergy in Victoria. In October 2012, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ken Lay, in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry on the issue, recommended that some of the church's actions to hinder investigations (including dissuading victims from reporting to police, failing to engage with police and alerting suspects of allegations against them) be criminalised. A bishop in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese supported some form of public inquiry into the issue.

In November 2012 Archbishop Hart, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, stated that he welcomed and promised co-operation with a Royal Commission, announced by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to broadly investigate child sexual abuse in institutions across Australia. George Pell, Cardinal-Archbishop of Sydney, stated that he hoped the Royal Commission will stop a "smear campaign" against the Catholic Church. During a press conference held on 13 November 2012, Cardinal Pell voiced his support for the Royal Commission and welcomed the opportunity to help victims, to clear the air and to separate fact from fiction. Through the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the Catholic Church established a national co-ordinating body, called the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, to oversee the church's engagement with the Royal Commission and the pastoral and other ramifications that arose from the sexual abuse scandal. The council was chaired by the Honourable Barry O'Keefe AM QC until his 2014 death. He was succeeded by the Honourable Neville Owen, a former judge, barrister and solicitor.

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