RIBBONS were tied to the local Catholic parish in a sign of support to local child sex abuse victims, ahead of Cardinal George Pell’s address to the child abuse royal commission next week.
The Loud Fence movement has seen ribbons tied to the fences of Catholic parishes all across the country, to condemn the Catholic Church’s historical silence over clergymen child sex abuse and show support to survivors.
It began last May, when ribbons were tied to the front fence of the former St Alipius Boys’ School site in Ballarat, where a number of cases of child sex abuse occurred.
Ribbons were tied to the St Mary’s Parish signage overnight on Wednesday as part of the movement.
The local resident behind the act told The Guardian the idea was to show support for local survivors and acknowledge that abuse happened here in Swan Hill.
The resident, who wished not to be named, said victims needed support as Cardinal George Pell was set to give evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutionalised Responses to Child Sexual Abuse all throughout next week.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (February 26).
