What is the Catholic Church doing in Australia?

'Catholic bishops and religious leaders in Australia are determined to do all in their power...'

The Catholic Church in Australia has been hard at work to establish a permanent form of change in the community and, if successful, possibly the world.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Catholic Church in Australia established a new independent non-profit to protect children and adults alike from all forms of abuse.

Catholic Professional Standards Limited stated: "Catholic bishops and religious leaders in Australia are determined to do all in their power to ensure that abuse, in any form, should never again occur in the Church.

"The setting of consistent national standards and auditing compliance with them is a key element in this."

The non-profit was announced by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia during the bishops' plenary meeting with religious leaders at Mary MacKilop Place in Sydney.

It will develop, audit and report on professional protection standards across the Catholic spectrum and will focus primarily in areas currently lacking standards at all.

Sister Ruth Durick, O.S.U., a member representative of Catholic Professional Standards and president of Catholic Religious Australia stated: "We look ahead with safety, respect and authenticity at the core of all we do in the community.

"Today's announcement marks a significant development in how the Church in Australia operates."

She continued, explaining the company's creation is "a decisive step forward" for the Catholic Church, particularly after report after report of sexual abuse of children continues to crop up.

The vice president of the Australian Catholic Bishop's Conference, Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, believes the company will continue the "cultural change" initiated by the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, which represented Catholic organizations before the Royal Commission.

CPS Lmt.'s FAQ states: "Catholic Professional Standards will pay close attention to the relevant recommendations that the Royal Commission makes in its final report to the Government and will be obliged to implement any subsequent related legislation."

Unfortunately, the non-profit will not have jurisdiction to force church authorities to implement their recommendations but it plans to publish reports to publicize whether an entity has failed any standards audits.

It hopes the reports will encourage establishments to raise their standards and respond to the public demand for safety.

CPS Lmt. encouraged anyone with complaints of alleged criminal behavior to report it immediately to either the police, the appropriate Director of Professional Standards or the relevant Church agency if the behavior is not criminal.

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