This research was designed to review the literature concerning child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia and elsewhere, and included 26 key international and Australian inquiry reports.

The Royal Commission has conducted a comprehensive survey of Catholic Church authorities in Australia to gather data about the extent of claims of child sexual abuse made against Catholic Church personnel. A significant proportion of the people who contacted the Royal Commission made allegations of child sexual abuse occurring in Catholic Church institutions. At the...

Assesses the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s process for responding to those who have been sexually abused by priests, religious and lay persons within the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Summary The report of Case Study 16 follows a public hearing into the Melbourne Response held in August last year (2014). At the public hearing the Royal Commission heard...

Life for former Catholic Church nuns who leave their order is often a sorry story of poverty, mental and physical ill health, social isolation and emotional pain, according to this report, which examines the experiences of nuns after leaving religious life, and uncovers systemic issues of neglect by the Church. It highlights inconsistencies and inadequacies...