Good to see that finally someone in the federal sphere has had the intestinal fortitude to take on the powerful Catholic Church. In this case Prime Minister Julia Gillard setting up a royal commission to uncover the truth about child sexual abuse by members of the Church, the commission will also target abuse by other religious and non religious institutions.
Without a deadline the royal commission being such a wide ranging inquiry could run on for years. However it is better to take time to reach the bottom of what has been, and still is, a shocking blight on our society. One of the most important aspects of the commission must be to examine institutional responses to child abuse.
I am pleased that Tony Abbott said he would support a broad based inquiry and there has been bipartisan support from Liberal State premiers. The response of George Pell leaves me a little cold with “I believe the air should be cleared and the truth uncovered.” Never been known as a ‘champion of the victim’ of his organizations pedophiles, Pell and his cronies could set out to be obstructionist to the inquiry, let us hope not. There has been systemic failure by the church leadership to respond addPedophilequitly to complaints of pedophilia within, hopefully they will not be allowed to hinder the inquiry. Possibly some will have to be dragged kicking and screaming before the commission.

I too am happy to see this long awaited royal commission into paedophilia within churches and institutions. We need to weed out the disgusting perpetrators and their equally abhorrent protectors.

George Pell is apparently 'cooperating' with this enquiry and is happy to see that other institutions are also being taken to account.
While all paedophiles should be treated as lowlife criminals, there is something particularly disgusting about religious based paedophiles in that these churches put themselves out there as our 'moral compass' and as examples of supposedly God-appointed lifestyles.

I am well aware that it is not only the Catholic Church priests involved in paedophilia, as paedophiles will infiltrate any church or organisation where they can have easier access to children . The supposed 'celibacy' of Catholic priests is not a 'cause' of paedophilia, as I am sure this enquiry will show when other Religious paedophiles are flushed out.

I hope there will be no more mercy for these so called 'holy' paedophiles than there is for the paedophiles elsewhere, because they are all dirty little criminals.

“Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also declared his support for a "wide-ranging" royal commission into child sex abuse but said it should not just focus on claims involving the Catholic Church.”

“The Prime Minister said the commission would look at all religious organisations, state care providers, not-for-profit bodies as well as the responses of child service agencies and the police.”

It’s all good but I think the way they keep saying other orgs and all providers etc means they don’t want to appear to be picking on the church. Before even announcing the commission it was being diluted.

I am not a Catholic, not even a Christian, nor do I support the acts of the priests in question, but those bishops and archbishops who were hiding them and destroyed evidence in order to prevent their flock falling into the hands of the secular regime, keeping it all in the family, have done the right thing!

The commission and police will no doubt do what they are paid to do and yet again in history, those bishops will turn into martyrs and saints as they will keep their mouth shut through torture and even while being fed to the lions. That's the Christian spirit anyway and if they will open their mouth and cooperate with secular authorities, then they are not worthy of being called "Christian".

I do hope that the churches handle and punish child-abuse cases internally, but handing in a sinner to the authorities can only be moral if the authority in question is at least two notches morally superior than the sinner: the government being such an immoral body, forcing itself on everyone, everyday, with power-gap greater even than the power-gap between adults and children, cannot claim any morality. The Catholic church, alright, is not the perfect example of morality either, but compared with the state, it is relatively white as an angel.

Just how many red herrings will you people chase.

It would appear our redhead has a whole bucket full of expensive red herrings, [friends no doubt], all set to introduce one each couple of weeks to keep the rabble twittering away, & off the trail of her utter uselessness.

It is amusing I suppose to see how easily the mob are led astray, & distracted.

Labor obviously have a new tactician, with some more effective ploys. They are certainly working so far, but will it last very long. Sooner or later many must wake up to the fact it is all empty promises, [that word again], to be effected after the election.

Don't forget how promises work with the red head. They mean nothing to her, & should mean about the same to you.

Piper, I wonder how many Nuns have seen the priests in question in action? There maybe child molesters right here pretending to be one of the up-standings....The church will now be under the hammer along with all those that has protected this disgusting closed underground community.

Piper, I believe the females in such a tangled web (punt intended) have just as much to answer too, what do you think?

The greens are not happy with religious political influences, which we all know which parties which support them......What is going on?

A newer and more open future is not far away:)

Watch the old very carefully.....

Planet3