| There are building calls for clergy sexual abuse to be investigated by a Royal Commission. Join Pete and prominent Australians in signing this petition to the Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Darin –
My name is Pete. When I was 8 years old I was sexually abused over a period of time by a member of the Catholic Church. I was an altar boy at a small parish in regional Victoria, and I was forced to commit acts that I did not understand or agree to.
All I knew was that it was wrong, that it did not make me feel special like the priest said it would, that I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone, and that I was bad.
It took me 22 years to tell anyone. It was only during a session with a psychologist during a particularly difficult time in my life that I dealt with what happened. I was a little boy when it happened and because of this abuse, I was rarely honest with anyone. My father died not really knowing his own son.
I almost didn’t make it but I am here. I was able to navigate my way through the hurt and trouble. But I am one of the lucky ones. Dozens of others have taken their own lives, and those that survive have suffered incredible amounts of mental anguish.
Parliamentarians on both sides need to support a Royal Commission. Only then can every one of us who has been damaged, start to grow again. Please join me in signing this petition asking for a Royal Commission for victims of clergy abuse.
Current hearings are exposing chilling new evidence of abuse and violence by the Church. One group says two boys died in the care of a Catholic order, while dozens of victims have been silenced and police investigations deliberately thwarted.
Survivors of abuse and their families have been asking for this for years. The government has always managed to avoid it. But what’s happening now is unprecedented. Police are joining calls from lawyers, psychologists, families, and prominent Australians like Father Bob Maguire and Malcolm Fraser.
It’s time. Please sign our petition, and make sure that those abused by Catholic clergy finally see justice done.
Thank you.
Pete Dillon |
It is what it is 