The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will commence hearings into the handling of complaints at Lismore’s North Coast Children’s Home on November 18.
People who were abused at the home as children, or who feel their existing complaints have not been adequately dealt with, are urged to come forward.
Last month the diocese published an apology in a local newspaper over the way it had dealt with complaints.
It apologised unreservedly for ‘sexual abuse, harsh punishment’ and ‘lack of appropriate or nurturing care’ and asked for the forgiveness of victims.
The apology followed the resignation in May of the then Bishop of Grafton, Right Reverend Keith Slater, who admitted he had failed to adequately address complaints of abuse and had been overly concerned about the church’s legal liability.
The commission can be contacted on 1800 099 340 or by emailing [email protected]
