October 20, 1996 — The Catholic Church announces the “Melbourne Response”

The Melbourne Response was a program by the Catholic Church in Victoria aimed at responding to the rising number of complaints of sexual abuse being made against Catholic clergy in that state. It came from the highest levels of the church in the state, being led by Archbishop George Pell of Melbourne.

It was a great success, according to the Catholic Church.

It was less of a success according to the victims and their families, who were treated with suspicion, disdain, a lack of empathy (a charge often leveled against Pell in particular), pitifully small cash settlements and non-disclosure agreements. Some years later, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse would not be impressed by the Melbourne Response, but it sure saved the church a lot of money and kept a lot of people from going public, and isn’t that what’s really important (to George Pell)?