Study identifies 16 child sex abuse rings in Victorian Catholic Church https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/study-identifies-16-child-sex-abuse-rings-in-victorian-catholic-church-20200215-p54158.html?fbclid=IwAR3lZBH56uVteIK5rxaAXAmETQCplyGEjQYjAOLSlCYcTypZJMYZMuYDgsA via @theage

“A three-year research project into paedophile Catholic clerics in Victoria has identified 16 child sex abuse networks operating over six decades involving 99 priests and Christian Brothers.”

“Members of the sexual underworld support one another in seeking positions of responsibility by praising one another and condemning any critics … this sexual underworld is so pervasive that acknowledging and addressing this may destroy a Diocese,” she wrote.”

“Her study also identified Christian Brother Rex Francis Elmer as a member of 2 paedophile networks. Sunday Age last week revealed Elmer taught at Catholic schools in regional Victoria & Africa for decades after his order first knew he’d abused children at a Melbourne orphanage”

“The investigation found that clergy paedophile rings shared patterns of behaviour with criminal gangs, the Mafia, terrorist cells, corrupt police, drug dealers, money launderers and price-fixing cartels.”

“The research showed their abuse was facilitated and reinforced by church hierarchy, including five successive archbishops of Melbourne from Daniel Mannix, appointed in 1917, through to George Pell (himself appealing against a conviction for child sex abuse) in 2001.”

“Muytjens’ research found the largest and most active dark networks were at schools including St Alipius in Ballarat and Salesian College, Rupertswood, and orphanages including St Vincent de Paul’s in South Melbourne and St Augustine’s in Geelong.”

“Drawing on research from around the world into child sex abuse by Catholic clerics, she said the data showed that "clergy perpetrators ... were placed in roles of recruiting boys to the priesthood”.

“The researcher, Sally Muytjens, spent more than three years investigating "dark networks" of paedophile clergy in Victorian dioceses. She published the research late last year, receiving a doctorate from Queensland University of Technology.”

“One of the worst offenders, convicted paedophile and former Christian Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan, was active in five of the 16 dark networks, she found.”