

The Catholic Church's handling of child abuse allegations against its clergy has been slammed in a damning report released yesterday.

The Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Childhood Sexual Abuse has found the Church's handling of the charges against its clergy were plagued by conflicts of interest and inconsistencies—and that an independent commissioner actively discouraged victims from reporting the crimes to the police.

The so-called 'Melbourne Response' was the process adopted by the Archdiocese of Melbourne to respond to victims of sexual abuse by priests, religious and lay persons within the Archdiocese.

The Royal Commission's indictment of that process was released along with its report into redress and a process for civil litigation over alleged sexual abuse.

New report slams Catholic Church's handling of child sex abuse allegations against its clergy

Yesterday on RN Breakfast we heard that the Catholic church is no longer using a legal tactic, known as the 'Ellis Defence', to stop victims of sexual assault by the Catholic clergy from suing the church.

The legal defence is based on a 2007 decision by the NSW Court of Appeal which found that the church could not be sued for compensation because it was not a legal entity.

The decision ended a lengthy battle for Sydney lawyer John Ellis, who was sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s.

The court also found that victims cannot sue a reigning bishop for something that happened on a previous bishop's watch.

Today, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse begins public hearings in the Victorian city of Ballarat.

Ballarat has one of the worst records of the sexual assault of children at the hands of the Catholic clergy in Australia.

Lawyer, Dr Vivian Waller, who's worked with victims of sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy for more than 20 years, will be at the Commission today, representing seven clients who will give evidence on the abuse they suffered.

Dr Waller says she refutes the church's claim that it no longer uses the so-called 'Ellis defence' to prevent victims from suing.

Dr Waller joins RN Breakfast from Ballarat.

Solicitor says Catholic church still uses Ellis Defence: Royal Commission

With the announcement of a royal commission into child sexual abuse, what is the effectiveness of the range of legal options open to survivors?

Legal avenues open to sex abuse survivors

A religious order in Melbourne has been accused of impeding an investigation into allegations of sex abuse at a former children's home.

A western Victorian man says he's spent thirty years trying to identify the nun who he claims abused him when he was eight years old at Nazareth House in Camberwell.

The victim says he's made repeated attempts to get help from the Sisters to identify the perpetrator, without success.

Charlotte King reports.

Religious order accused of impeding sex abuse investigation

Bishop Ronald Mulkearns was the Bishop of Ballarat for 26 years when the Victorian city became an epicentre for sexual abuse and cover-up within the Catholic Church. Bishop Mulkearns' death from colon cancer at the age of 86 was announced yesterday by the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. Lawyer, Dr Vivian Waller, represents 31 victim survivors of alleged sexual abuse by convicted paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. Some of those survivors are currently pursuing their claims in legal action against Bishop Mulkearns and another former Bishop of Ballarat, Bishop James O'Collins. Dr Waller says this is because the so-called Ellis defence is still legally preventing victim survivors from directly suing the Catholic Church.

Waller Legal