Aus PM apologises to victims of child sex abuse, says 'we failed them'

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday issued an emotional national apology to thousands of survivors and victims of institutional child sex abuse for failing to protect them from "evil dark" crimes committed over decades and said he was angry at those who have abused the "shield of faith and religion" to hide their misdeeds.

The formal apology followed a national investigation into institutional sexual abuse in Australia, which spanned five years and stunned the country with revelations of thousands of cases of shocking abuse in institutional settings like churches and orphanages.

In a speech which was broadcast live across the country, Morrison said the trauma suffered by the victims had been "hiding in plain sight for too long."
"Silenced voices. Muffled cries in the darkness. Unacknowledged tears. The tyranny of invisible suffering. The never heard pleas of tortured souls, bewildered by an indifference to the unthinkable theft of their innocence."
He said it was a sorry that dare not ask for forgiveness but rather "seeks to reach out in compassion into the darkness, where you have lived for so long" and assured them: "I believe you, we believe you, your country believes you."
"We can never promise a world where there are no abusers but we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children."
"It was never your fault," he told survivors. "Not then, not now. You have nothing to be ashamed of. There was nothing wrong with you and you did nothing wrong."