MK forum

update on Australia.....

Full story can be found at

A quote that I found interesting......three (no one) guess at which other organisation Mr Johnston could be talking about?

"The silence, secrecy and the shame which the church have been leaders in, are the offenders best friend and our children's worst enemy," Johnston said on Monday.

ps: Merry Christmas all.

Thanks for that, 22 years ago. Very interesting indeed!

May 2013 be another significant year in our fight for justice for survivors of childhood abuse!

My guess is with the high level inquiry beginning in Australia, what we will see is positioning by groups and organisations involved.

The guilty will consult their lawyers, who will probably tell them to start by making a public apology, for only the very naive will know that the evidence sitting waiting to come out will put them in an awkward position. Some organisations will see an apology as a beginning to a process of confession and healing, while some will see an apology as the minimum they can get away with and the fulfilment of their moral duties.

It will be up to groups of victims to clearly state to the Inquiry what they want/need to commence healing or to see as a just punishment for past events.

It will not be a comfortable time for organisations with guilt on their hands, being paraded in front of the media and being called to account. But that is the price that must be paid for years of inaction.

"One senior New South Wales police investigator's damning testimony into how the church destroyed evidence and moved accused priests around the country prompted Prime Minister Julia Gillard to announce the royal commission in November."

"Adults Surviving Child Abuse president Cathy Kezelman said the church still needed to be more transparent and forthright about its role in the systematic abuse of children over the years.

"It's an absolutely minimal response to express regret," she said on Monday.

"It's very important that we also acknowledge the failure of religious organisations, including the Catholic Church, to respond appropriately to victims."

MINIMAL! MINIMAL! MINIMAL!
Failure to respond appropriately to victims...
...still need to be more transparent and forthright about its role...

Time to leave denial behind and enter into reality.

"GRACE was very critical of NTM officials who made excuses for their inaction by saying such things as “there was nothing definite” . . . “no details” . . . “only allegations” . . . and “only bits of inappropriate behavior.” GRACE pointed out that these excuses made “clear” that NTM leadership was trying to do little more than get themselves off “the hot seat.”
Christa Brown (blog)
See the Media page on the main page

"The abuse, which took 13 months to investigate, is detailed in a 68-report released to the media in Orlando on Wednesday.

"Our job was to investigate, very carefully the allegations and claims and records and all the data and information we could get, and determine if and how New Tribes failed in its dealings with child abuse at Fanda and its response to it," said Tchividjian, a former Central Florida prosecutor.
Orlando Sentinel article
See Media page

"We've been very transparent in this process," Brown said. "We feel like we've been very vulnerable as well, and we're ok with that."

"We're just committed to remain transparent and accountable."
Orlando Sentinel article
Media page

"Tchividjian is hopeful that NTM will respond appropriately to its own scandal. "Right now, words mean nothing," he said. "Actions are going to be key." The attorney sees an opportunity for the missions organization to respond in a way that other ministries have not: "If they do the right thing, it will be groundbreaking."

But Penn State broke ground first.

2013 will be decision time for many people in Australasia..

Paedophiles will have to decide where to hide next, because when the pressure goes on, the organisations that have protected them for so long will decide who will be the sacrificial wolves to take the pressure off themselves.

Organisations with guilt on their hands will need to decide how cooperative they are going to be with the Inquiry, because they will have no option about answering questions (this is an inquiry at the highest level and "no" is not an option). Any obstruction will be seen by the public as a continuation of the same and an indication of even more guilt.

Individuals associated with implicated organisations will have to decide where they personally stand on the issues of historic abuse, just saying "we don't like child abuse" is not going to be good enough. The fence that many have sat on to long is about to be sharpened and made rather uncomfortable. Donors will be scrutinized as will finances.

Victims and their supporters will need to decide how much of this excellent opportunity they wish to accept.
Even though most of us are not Australians, the world media will be keeping an eye on this, because it will be trend setting. Keep the inquiry infront of those who need to take notice and those who have influence, the spin off could be advantageous.

The ball is on our side of the court, time to play ball.