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All they want is money?

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It’s been a long-running refrain of the Church (and church supporters) that clergy abuse victims who press a complaint to the church are doing it for the money.  And of course that’s a very difficult accusation to refute without specific figures, which churches are usually extremely reluctant to disclose.  Fortunately that kind of detail is the sort of thing that gets forced out into the open during a Royal Commission.

In December, the SMH reported that “Incomplete church data says 1700 people had participated in Towards Healing by 2013, and had been paid a total of $43 million by church authorities. The highest known individual payment was $850,000.”  Now $850,000 looks like the sort of amount that could bolster the ‘only in it for the money’ argument.  But let’s just stop and think for a moment.  $43M, divided among 1700 victims equates to an average payment of just under $25,300 each.  Taking one payment of $850,000 and one person out of the equation drops the average payment to all the others by around $500.

In most cases, complainants have struggled with the effects of their abuse throughout their lives since, and been profoundly re-traumatised in pressing their complaint.  Believe me, there’s no way $25,000 would make it seem worth it!


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