Posted May 04, 2019 18:33:06 The story of a woman who was allegedly sexually abused by a priest is going viral.
The story has been shared over 1 million times on Facebook and Twitter.
But what’s the story?
ABC News Australia has been following the case of the mother-of two who has told her story of abuse by a Catholic priest.
The woman says the priest raped her when she was a teenager.
The priest has been charged with rape and child abuse.
The ABC has been told the woman was abused by the same priest as her mother-in-law, who died from cancer last year.
She was 15 when she says the abuse began.
She says she was “totally traumatised”.
A police investigation has been launched, but has not been announced.
The mother-to-be said she was sexually assaulted by a man who lived in the same house as her parents.
She alleges she was forced to perform oral sex on him and he gave her a bottle of alcohol.
The man is a priest in the parish of St Mary Magdalene Parish in Melbourne.
The Australian Catholic Church has called the allegations against the priest “deeply disturbing”.
The church has said it is “committed to addressing any issues raised by the woman”.
What is the case?
The woman told the ABC that the priest was a former member of the Catholic church and she had a relationship with him as a teenager and she believed she was in a “love triangle”.
The woman was told by her mother to get rid of the priest, who was still in the ministry at the time, because she was having trouble holding down a job.
But she said she did not tell anyone because she did a lot of cleaning and cleaning work and she did have some money.
She said the priest came to the house and gave her “a few” gifts.
The gift she gave the priest included a “handkerchief” with a “poo on it”.
The gift that was given to the priest at the church was a bottle with a child’s name written on it, which the woman said she believed was a sexual reference.
The young woman said the gift came after she had “made love” to the woman, which was something the priest did when he “fell asleep” during a visit to the home.
The incident began at a local hospital when she said a man came to her home after seeing her in the hospital.
She alleged the man gave her an alcohol and told her to get out of the house.
The next day, she says she saw a priest, a priest with a black robe and mask, coming to her door in her mother’s bedroom.
The alleged priest was standing in the doorway, holding a child and she said he told her she was not allowed to leave the home while he was there.
She left the house in tears.
The church said the woman has been “deepened and rehabilitated” since then and the priest has resigned.
What happened to the mother?
The mother has now spoken to ABC News and said the abuse took place in the 1970s, after she was given a gift by a church member.
She has said she has been in a relationship for 20 years with a priest who was “one of the priests in our parish”.
The mother said she believes the priest sexually assaulted her and that she was 14 years old when the abuse started.
“I have not spoken to the other child for over 20 years, I have not talked to my mother in 20 years and my mother and I are in love,” she said.
The Church has not responded to ABC Radio Melbourne’s request for comment.
How did the priest resign?
The Australian Church said the allegations made against the Catholic Church were “deep, disturbing and deeply disturbing”.
It said the Australian Catholic Archdiocese was investigating the matter.
The Archdiocesan spokesman said the allegation against the archdiocese had been referred to the police.
The archdiocesion was working with a forensic investigator and the church would provide further information in due course.
The Catholic Archdeacon of Melbourne said it was “compelled to take action” in the circumstances, and said it had “investigated the matter thoroughly and found it to be entirely without foundation”.
Does the church have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse?
Yes, the archbishop said.
“The Archdiacon of Victoria is committed to protecting all vulnerable people, including those who have been sexually abused,” the statement said.
It said its sexual abuse hotline and support services would be available to those who need them.
The Archbishop said the archdeacon had met with the woman’s parents and her former parishioners to “help her” and “strengthen her confidence”.
It is the church’s policy not to report suspected abuse to the local police.
Does it have a code of conduct?
The archbishop also said the church had a zero tolerance policy for “sexual or physical abuse