You may have seen in the news recently that the Catholic Church in Australia was the first non-government institution to sign up nationally to the National Redress Scheme for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, which was a key recommendation of the recent Royal Commission.

I am pleased to confirm that the Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province has joined the National Redress Scheme as a firm sign of our deep commitment to treating the victims of child sexual abuse with the compassion and justice they deserve.

The redress scheme takes the question of compensation for abuse victims out of the hands of Church entities and into a government-run, independent setting.

It also means that people who have been abused by Church personnel don’t have to go through the trauma of the court system.

The SVD decision to join the redress scheme is one of a number of recent significant developments the Province has undertaken in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

We have also established an Office for Professional Standards, which sits under our Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation area. It sits here because we see this issue as first and foremost an issue of justice for those who were abused in Church settings.

This office is charged with proactively putting in place the necessary regulations and safeguards to ensure we have a child-safe environment now and into the future.

We have been busy ensuring that we comply with all the agreed frameworks and standards as part of the national response to ensure accountability and safety.

Through Catholic Religious Australia, the Divine Word Missionaries will support the work of the newly-formed entity, Catholic Professional Standards Limited, an independent advisory group which acts as auditor for professional standards compliance in the Church.

All of this has a few key aims in mind – to ensure that past victims of abuse are treated compassionately and with justice; to ensure that there is a fundamental change of culture so that the abuse of the past cannot happen again; and to build an environment of safety and accountability into the future.

Yours in the Word,

Fr Henry Adler SVD

Provincial.