It took 5 years and a mountain of evidence from witnesses, but the findings and recommendations from the Royal Commission are now out there for all to see. The Commission was critical of the Catholic Church, in particular. In all there are 189 new recommendations, key among them being;

The clergy should be forced to report information confided to them in the confessional.

Celibacy in the Catholic Church should be voluntary.

Creating of a new criminal offence for failing to protect children within an institution.

The creation of a new National Office for child safety.

The report said the number of victims ran into the ten’s of thousands, and the perpetrators were not just a few “rotten apples”

Already the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has attacked the report, saying; "I think any proposal to effectively stop the practice of confession in Australia would be a real hurt to all Catholics and Orthodox Christians and I don't think would help any young person," 

More than 60% of sex abuse survivors said it happened at the hands of the Catholic Church at the average age of 11.

The job of government is now to turn these recommendation into hard and fast laws that protect children from societies institutionalize sex abusers. This is way overdue, and should be acted upon quickly and decisively, despite the howls of protests from the likes of the Catholic Church.

1 Timothy 3:1-7

Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?). He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
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If these were applied to the church more often then it would be better. Church elders would have their own families and that would be part of the test to see if they became an elder, and if they were caught in a crime they would have to let go of the station they held in the church until they proved to be better then they were at the time of the crime.

If those two elements were included into the church then I think pedophilia would be reduced greatly.

Royal Commissions are an expensive farce, used by lazy politicians to make us think that they are doing something. They have no authority, and merely make recommendations.

I really love the one about “Celibacy in the Catholic Church should be voluntary.” The Catholic church will take that on board – not!

“The clergy should be forced to report information confided to them in the confessional.” Rave on! Test it against the Constitution.

We have had the stupid, wasteful – in time and money – Commissions over the years. Name one that has been of any practical use.

There are perfectly sound laws to deal with this problem now. Thanks to bludging politicians and and a gutless, incompetent judiciary, these laws are not used. The charades that Royal Commissions are will not change anything.

If our leaders had any honour, if they were at all frank and honest with us, they would be admitting that it was always the leadership that was deficient. They would admit that the laws were always there and so were the watchers and enforcers of the laws, and there is no need for the political show of more, redundant, laws.

But specifically, if our leaders were truly sorry and repentant and had a mite of respect for the laws that are already on the books and concern for children, they would be seeking to charge the leaders responsible, who presided over the dreadful abuses that occurred.

If there were any police charges and court convictions of senior leaders coming from this and there should be already, I might have some confidence that some of it might not be so prevalent in the future.

Paul 1405, you, Greens and other political parties and vested interests are just playing politics, getting mean headlines out of the suffering of children and you have utter contempt for their safety and for Australian laws. I can say that because the conditions I have outlined above have not been met and never will be. But you and they are playing politics.

But the main reason I can say what I have is because the abuses of children continue to this day and into the future and of course right under the noses of the responsible leaders and the watchers set to ensure those unspeakable crimes are deterred and those responsible pursued to the full extent of the EXISTING laws.

However my saddest feelings are there because the community, we the public, usually have an inkling when something is seriously awry. But so often we turn our backs, thinking, 'Someone in government ought do something about that' and fail to take action and follow it up, ourselves.

Having duplicated laws to 'make' us do that, to report a suspected offence, does not address the root of the problem.

Each time we have to bear the cost of a a useless Royal Commission we are reminded of what a bunch of no-hopers our politicians are. They know that they are covering up their incompetence and cowardice, and good old 'she'll be right mate' Australians continue to get the lousy politicians they deserve.

The Catholic Church has said today that it will not be changing any of its 'universal laws'. And there is not a thing that can be done about that.

So, more millions wasted on another Royal Commission whose members knew quite well that they were going to be ignored - but the money's good!

Next: the equally useless and costly RC into banks.