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Accusations of Abuse in Institutions

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The Press
July 12, 2002

Abuse of trust
Letter to the Editor
by Rob Ritchie, Fendalton, July 6

John Bluck (July 1) clearly believes churches have suffered enough as a result of shame-filled headlines about sexual abuse by clergy.

I take a different view, formed from a decade of child protection social work where I learned to seek the perspective of those who have experienced the direct impact of abuse.

I think Dean Bluck's article fails to consider the way abusive power operates, which is always from the top down. Therefore, any shame experienced by churches should not be equated with the humiliation of those who were failed by those churches.

Not only was there abuse by clergy, but further betrayals occurred when senior clergy did nothing to halt abuse.

I hope therefore, that the Anglican Church is robust enough to endure the heat of media scrutiny, and that it will always keep its own shame in perspective.