- Queensland victim 'proves' church ran abuse home in NSW
- The Australian
- 14/03/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
A QUEENSLAND pensioner who refused a payment of $20,000 from the Anglican Church for abuse he suffered at a children's home says he has proved that the church was legally responsible for the beatings he received over many years.
Richard Tommy Campion, 62, was raised at the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore, in northeastern NSW, in the 1950s and 1960s. He took legal action against the church in 2005 for abuse he suffered at the home.
Mr Campion was stunned when the church said the home in which he was raised was not a church home.
"There was a sign out the front, describing it as the Church of England North Coast Children's Home," Mr Campion said.
"It was on church grounds. Clergy worked there. There were nuns walking around. But they got some weasel words out and said, technically, legally, it's nothing to do with them."
Mr Campion is a former photographer for News Limited, publisher of The Australian.
In 2007, the church offered more than $800,000, to be divided between him and other claimants, saying the money was not "compensation" but an "act of compassion".
The church's legal advice is that the home, although on church grounds and employing local clergy, was not church-run but was run by a local executive, comprised mostly of church members. The distinction ruffled Mr Campion. Last month, he received documents under Freedom of Information laws, on the letterhead of the former department of child welfare.
One of these documents, dated 1952, describes the home as a "Church of England North Coast Children's Home". Mr Campion says these documents and other evidence prove the home was run by the church.
In a statement to The Australian, the Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, said: "I have met with Mr Campion and provided a detailed, written apology in the name of the church; a generous support package has been suggested.
"The sticking point appears to be an almost academic legal point as to who had a duty of care at the relevant time."
Richard Tommy Campion, 62, was raised at the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore, in northeastern NSW, in the 1950s and 1960s. He took legal action against the church in 2005 for abuse he suffered at the home.
Mr Campion was stunned when the church said the home in which he was raised was not a church home.
"There was a sign out the front, describing it as the Church of England North Coast Children's Home," Mr Campion said.
"It was on church grounds. Clergy worked there. There were nuns walking around. But they got some weasel words out and said, technically, legally, it's nothing to do with them."
Mr Campion is a former photographer for News Limited, publisher of The Australian.
In 2007, the church offered more than $800,000, to be divided between him and other claimants, saying the money was not "compensation" but an "act of compassion".
The church's legal advice is that the home, although on church grounds and employing local clergy, was not church-run but was run by a local executive, comprised mostly of church members. The distinction ruffled Mr Campion. Last month, he received documents under Freedom of Information laws, on the letterhead of the former department of child welfare.
One of these documents, dated 1952, describes the home as a "Church of England North Coast Children's Home". Mr Campion says these documents and other evidence prove the home was run by the church.
In a statement to The Australian, the Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, said: "I have met with Mr Campion and provided a detailed, written apology in the name of the church; a generous support package has been suggested.
"The sticking point appears to be an almost academic legal point as to who had a duty of care at the relevant time."
Source: https://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25179301-5006784,00.html
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