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Priest abuse victim pressured by Church

The Advertiser, Australia
May 29, 2006
Gary Hughes
www.theadvertiser.news.com.au

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Tuesday May 30, 2006

The victim of satanic ritual abuse by a Catholic priest has exclusively given his version of events to NEW.com.au’s Gotcha blog, saying the church was aware of his allegations long before it agreed to pay him compensation.

The victim today said he was pressured into accepting the compensation and surrendering his legal right to sue the church after the Melbourne Archdiocese said it would otherwise stop paying for his trauma counselling.

He also responded to doubts raised about his case, saying that he was not relying on “recovered” memory and had not undergone hypnotism as part of his treatment.

He said his Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other conditions diagnosed by one of Melbourne’s leading psychiatrists were evidence that his story was true.

NEWS.com.au revealed on Friday that documents relating to the man’s case showed the Melbourne Archdiocese had accepted as substantially true his “extraordinary” claims that a Melbourne priest had taken part in satanic rituals in which at least three people were murdered.

“I am ‘Exhibit A’ if you like. I am the smoking gun,” the victim, “James T” says in a post on Gotcha today.

“I have permanent physical and neurological injuries. My conditions are verifiable scientifically and the symptoms cannot be faked convincingly.

“My neurological conditions are only produced under extreme and sustained conditions.

“To refute my claims, it would at least be necessary to propose a possible alternative explanation for my condition.”

Further comment was being sought from the Melbourne Archdiocese today.

• Read the victim’s full story in his own words on today’s Gotcha