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An Australian court has held the Catholic Church responsible for the mistreatment of a five-year-old child by a priest in the early 1970s in a landmark decision that could impact future cases of mistreatment.
Last month, the Supreme Court in Victoria, south-eastern Australia, ruled that the current Diocese of Ballarat was vicariously liable for the mistreatment of the boy, who cannot be named, by Fr. Bryan Coffey in the coastal town of Port Fairy in the early 1970s.
Coffey, an assistant pastor at the time, abused the boy during two pastoral visits to his home in 1971.
The Diocese of Ballarat argued that Coffey was not a formal employee at the time and could not be held responsible for Coffey’s actions, adding that Coffey’s home visits were “social outings” unrelated to his work for the church.
Judge Jack Forrest, who presided over the case, found that Coffey was not a formal employee of the church due to a lack of a contract or formal arrangement, but said the suggestion of the church that Coffey’s home visits were social outings was “sheer nonsense.”
“It is, in my opinion, both inconceivable and an affront to common sense to suggest (as the diocese says) that these visits to the houses of parishioners and [the survivor’s] the house had no connection with Coffey’s pastoral role in the Church and were simply social outings separate from his role as an assistant priest, â€Forrest said in his ruling.
He concluded that the Diocese was vicariously responsible for Coffey’s actions due to the close nature between the Bishop, the Diocese, and the Catholic community of Port Fairy.
He also cited the diocese’s general control over Coffey’s duties and pointed out that Coffey had to make home visitation as part of his pastoral role in the city.
He awarded the survivor $ 230,000 and said he was convinced that Coffey’s role as priest under the direction of the diocese placed him in a position of power “which allowed him to profit from [the survivor] when he was alone, as he did with the other boys “.
The judge added that the survivor had not proven the diocese’s negligence since there was no evidence the diocese was aware of Coffey’s misconduct and abuse.
Ken Cush & Associates, who represented the survivor, described the case as a landmark decision that will help countless other survivors in legal battles against the Catholic Church.
“This verdict, along with the courage our client has shown in fighting for the rights of this five-year-old version of himself, will help countless more victims of religious abuse in the future,” special advocate Sangeeta Sharmin at Guardian Australia.
“The argument can no longer be used as a shield by Catholic institutions, and our efforts to give a voice to victims of abuse ultimately resulted in this landmark decision.”
She said dioceses should take responsibility for the men they place in communities and asked their clergy to trust.
The survivor also told Guardian Australia that the church’s approach to the case has caused him great distress.
He said the diocese was “not giving anything” and added that he had been “dragged” to court.
He was cross-examined for three days and said he was forced to relive painful moments in his life, including the death of his parents in a car crash in 1985, which he said did not had nothing to do with the case.
He said the church was “ruthless” in describing Coffey’s home visitation as unrelated to his role in the diocese.
“It really upset me, because you know I always learned that a priest is a priest, 24 hours a day. We always had priests and nuns visiting the house, and the nuns never went out. of their habits when they came to the house. The priest was never stripped of his clerical tie when he visited the house, “the survivor told Guardian Australia.
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