Windsor to write to PM about church abuse - Sydney Morning Herald

AAP

Key independent MP Tony Windsor will tell Prime Minister Julia Gillard the government needs to do something about allegations of child sex abuse inside the Catholic Church and attempts to cover them up.

The MP has also called on the nation's most senior Catholic priest to show some leadership on claims of pedophilia within all religious organisations.

Mr Windsor says he will write to the prime minister on Monday, expressing his concerns about the "enormous number" of people affected by the allegations of abuse.

"They feel as though the system is letting them down," he told ABC radio.

"My advice to the prime minister and others ... is it is probably better to deal with this sooner rather than later."

Mr Windsor said the allegations had created an odour over the Catholic Church.

He is concerned about recent allegations, especially from a senior NSW police detective, about a cover-up inside the church.

The MP dismissed as "pathetic" a decision by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to limit a special commission of inquiry to examine the police investigations of pedophile priests in the Hunter Valley.

"It almost makes a mockery of the people who have suffered," he said.

Any inquiry into the allegations needed to be national, Mr Windsor said.

"Blind Freddy can see that."

Mr Windsor called on Cardinal George Pell to show some leadership if the Archbishop of Sydney thought calls for a national inquiry were a disproportionate attack on the Catholic Church.

"If he actually believes that, he should become an advocate for a broader commission."

Federal cabinet minister Craig Emerson said Ms Gillard had yet to discuss the issue with her colleagues.

"She wants to review the work that is going on already and also review the evidence and the issue more generally," Dr Emerson told ABC radio.

Opposition frontbencher David Johnston said the revelations of child abuse were damaging the reputation of the Catholic Church.

"This has been an absolute blot on the landscape in terms of people's faith and trust in the church," Senator Johnston said.

But he was circumspect about the merits of a national royal commission.

"Remember, royal commissions are very expensive and people have to be cross-examined in giving their evidence," he said.

"The victims are often the last consideration in this, and I am concerned we put them through a court process that aggravates the situation."

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne said the coercive powers of a royal commission would look at the systemic failure of the church.

"And that is what people want," she told ABC radio.

"There is no doubt that cover-up occurred and the key thing was to protect the church at all costs rather than have the embarrassment and the humiliation of this coming out."

Senator Milne said she would discuss the matter with Ms Gillard when parliament resumes later in November.