If contact details were given, the Lina’s Project team made contact with people who left feedback if their comment expressed a need for support.
“Great work on the project. Andrew would be proud. THANK YOU!”
“A touching concept, wonderful initiative and I am very honoured to be here today.”
“Well done Lina & Team. Great work and more to come. Thank you.”
“Thank you very much. Blessings on Lina’s Project.”
“Hi Lina! You did a wonderful job! Thank you so much.”
“Very sensitively done. Thank you.”
“Amazingly well presented – you did yourself proud Lina. Thank you”
“Very pleased I came. Very well presented.”
“Spent 2 hours on the bus from Taree to be here with 25 members of our & Forster Parish. Would have spent double that to be here!! Congratulations to everyone involved – wonderful initiative!!”
“Hi Lina, Congratulations on achieving this public healing event. I am a survivor of clergy abuse and appreciate your inspiration and courage and all it would have taken to bring this to fruition. I am not through my process of healing yet but felt it to be a very good thing to experience the public outing of criminal and sexual abusers…finally. P.S. Consider slowing it down a little as the pictures at the beginning and some sentences flashed too quickly to see or read properly. Xo”
“Beautifully sensitive. Heart breakingly truthful.”
“This project is exactly what is needed within our community. Personally, I am not an overly religious person yet I work for the Catholic Diocese and I find it is so important that this is being recognised and that the church is taking ownership for what has occurred. I look forward to seeing what more is to come. I feel it would be ideal to also reach a younger audience because the message is so powerful!”
“The one group never shouldering any blame for these crimes are the congregations. I am reminded of the behaviour of the German population during the holocaust. They behaved like the four wise monkeys- Saw no evil, heard no evil, spoke no evil and for those living near the extermination camps, smelt no evil.”
“I cannot express the depth of my sorrow. I am sorry.”
“With much love and support.”
“Your pain is our pain!”
“A very good presentation, congratulations Lina, the evening was very well supported. Thank you!”
“Well done, a great way to open people’s eyes to the abuse.”
“Thank you Lina. Thank you community. A wonderful example for the nation.”
“Such a great moving moment gave me tears. It would be nice if the Newcastle Catholic Diocese would put a memorial plaque at the front of St Pius High School for us survivors and those no longer with us to give us survivors more attention.”
“Congratulations to Lina. A brave and powerful expression of forgiveness and love. May peace be with Lina’s Project.”
“Well done Lina. Thank you for sharing your work.”
“Dear Lina, Thank you for your courage and your vision. Thank you so much for being the inspiration for Lina’s Project.”
“The video presentation was very thought provoking and the start of the journey of healing. God bless everyone. Thanks.”
“Dear Lina, what a brave lady- thank you for tonight. I’m sure it will help a lot of people in their effort towards the healing process.”
“Well done, presented well. Missing a mention of the nuns.”
“My congratulations to Lina and the team for putting this presentation together. It is difficult to watch for some but very necessary if healing is to occur. A special thank you to Bishop Wright for funding this and for committing to future events.”
“Thank you to Lina and her supporters for confronting us so powerfully with the damage done and lives shattered by this evil done in our midst. I say ‘in our midst’ because I am a relative of one of the perpetrators and my own family bears the wounds every day.”
“For all who have lost their lives at Marist Brothers High School Hamilton – Gone but not forgotten.”
“I came tonight to support my husband. I am glad that the public are now aware of how big this actually was. I too attended the same school and church. I feel terrible my parents without knowing supported these low life people financially and their whole being. Telling us after each Mass to go and preach the word of the Lord. I could not put a piece of egg on as I can never come together with the bishop or his supporters. NO TRUST EVER EVIL EVIL PEOPLE. WE SENT OUR KIDS TO THEM. They hide under the church. LET THEM BE JUDGED.”
“It would have been better if Wright actually spoke his own words and begged for forgiveness. PS. Great work Lina.”
“Why didn’t you admit to this at the Special Commission instead of hurting us?”
“It was a really excellent event. Congratulations to the whole team of people who brought it together. Amazing work!”
“Lina, you’re amazing! Yes! It’s about time the church took responsibility as a whole. And yes - they do need to ask for forgiveness. It is the only way we can move on.”
“To the victims of this horrific crime- our hearts are aching for you. I hope that this event has helped along the way of your healing.”
“To all those who have suffered and continue to suffer. I hope in some small way you know your community hopes we can be part of your healing.”
“To all of us “thank you” and may our love for each other and the happiness of life and the communion of community and clanship be upon us.”
“The pain never goes away…but forgiveness is the only way to get through life and justice will be done. I thank God every day of my life for the many gifts and wonder He has bestowed upon me. Pray for us.”
“McGrath not mentioned that’s ok. He’ll burn in hell. Everyone will be free of him- from my son- gone but not forgotten.”
“Thank you Lina for calling our diocese to a deeper sorrow and determination to help in the healing of all our community. What a brave woman!”
“Your project Lina was a great idea. We do need to forgive each other. It is extremely hard to do but we must try. God bless you and all the people who have been hurt in the diocese and those who have contributed to this wonderful project- The Atonement.”
“Amazing to see people here in support of this cause. Needs to be discussed in the community and not be brushed aside! More conversation needs to be had. Great initiative. Thank you Lina.”
“Good to see Fr Peter Brock on the big screen.”
“Dear Bishop Bill, I am writing to voice my disapproval of the projection of names & faces of perpetrators of sexual abuse on the cathedral facade. Victims should indeed be compensated & supported as you have rightly gone out of your way to do. But public displays of vindictiveness have no place in our church of mercy, forgiveness & love despite the current culture.”
“Congratulations on a very special night. Your organisation and attention to detail plus your preparedness for any possible reactions ensured a very worthwhile night. The mood was quiet, respectful and sad which was exactly as it should be. The chance to bring a lot of people together was appreciated and I think the remembrance days of the future will be very beneficial for the many affected by the past abuse.”
“Yes I did watch the whole of the presentation it was very well done and respectful. It looked like a good turn-out.”
“It was a powerful presentation and well received by attendees. A positive experience.”
“Lina, thank you for Project Lina. You are doing a graced deed in an amazing way using your gifts and talents to being hope and love into the broken shell of our church whose declared history has destroyed so many precious embryonic hopes and dreams of shells so young. Your project through acknowledging the past cruel acts of our church by opening and exposing wounds brings the oil of healing balm to all our hearts and souls. Thank you Bishop William Wright you are an inspiration of courage and hope for all................ Out of the broken shell is possibility of new life!”
“There were times when I dry retched at what was being expected of me. The abuse that I suffered made me feel ashamed, confused, guilty and unclean. I used to think that somehow it must be my fault. It left me feeling powerless, betrayed and traumatized. I too cannot trust, shop and attend functions without anxiety overwhelming me. I wonder at times what is real and unreal whether I am sane or insane. It stays with me every day and at other times it comes rushing back, but it never goes away. I too want to lash out, curl up, hit back, scream and shout all at the same time. I was a vulnerable adult when I was abused. The Provincial that abused me exploited that vulnerability. I still feel alone, and unable to express my story. I felt alone as I sat the other evening at Lina’s Project. I don’t belong anywhere. Because I have social anxiety I could not stay and mingle. I tried to for a little while but I had to leave.”
“Thank you for the first stage in a process of offering forgiveness to the survivors of child sexual abuse. While naming the perpetrators is important, and has been done regularly, I am uncomfortable with the daily screening at the cathedral. I, too, am a sinner, who may not cast the first stone. Certainly Clergy Sexual Abuse must never happen again, but merely focusing on the perpetrators obscures the fact that this is an issue requiring a total conversion or turning around of the way the church operates. There are institutional causes for this horror and they will also need to be named and addressed, as a matter of priority, as the Royal Commission will no doubt explore, in its forthcoming Report. I totally concur with Fr Joseph Doyle, op, (USA) one of the presenters at the final hearings of the Royal Commission. He said that because of the lifelong emotional and spiritual scarring (he called it spiritual rape) of survivors they must be our top priority. Lina's Project seems to be taking this seriously. I look forward to the ongoing tangible process which continues to take survivors and a renewed, inclusive culture seriously. Thank you.”
“I attended the Atonement on Friday evening, I must say somewhat reluctantly. However, it proved to be a most moving & meaningful experience. Congratulations to Lina for conceiving this wonderful project & to the Diocese for supporting it so unreservedly. I was completely overwhelmed by the entire event. I think it could be worthwhile repeating it at some appropriate time. Thank you to all involved.”
“I couldn't bring myself to attend but have just watched the very devastating video. Perhaps now we can begin, as a Community, to heal.”
“Call for national mandatory reporting laws for clergy. Calls for Australian Bishops to petition the Vatican for changes to mandatory reporting laws for clergy sexual abuse for children and vulnerable adults.”
“Just returned home after attending the launch for Lina's project. What an emotionally stirring event and what a brave group of people.”
“The event on 15 September was powerful and moving, the community's involvement in rebuilding the egg intensely so as the line of participants seemed never to end. It is saddening to learn that, due to time constraints and the involvement of others, the A/V presentation departed from Lina's conception without her having the opportunity to approve it in final form. At the heart of Lina's Project lay her determination that it not be a church event, nor that it be another forum for the expression of victims' anguish and bitterness towards the church. Miraculously, Lina has retained her faith. As Lina's Project is expressed to be an ongoing one, the next step should be for Lina to edit and approve a "director's cut" of the AV presentation. Only in that way can the artist's concept be truly realised.”
“It would be really nice if the church as part of their recognition were to financially support us with all our medical expenses for the rest of our lives. As they have recognised there is no cure & the compensation paid out didn't even cover all my medical expenses to date. Much less into the future. I receive psychotherapy three times weekly & am on several medications for my PTSD some of which aren't on the PBS & very expensive. I usually require as per Psychiatrist recommendations approx 3/4 admissions to Lake Side Clinic Warners Bay each year. I'm sure your now getting the idea that despite my best efforts these costs will no doubt continue for the rest of my life however long that turns out to be given my regular suidiology episodes. Not only would it be greatly appreciated but should be made mandatory by the church in recognition to the damage done to be at least of some help to us. However thank you for the amount given in compensation that as my solicitors (John & Nicola Ellis's) informed me they had to fight tooth & nail for every cent. You would have to agree that's pretty pathetic.”
“I attended the launch of Lina’s Project on September 15. Like many this evening, following the video presentation, I felt a range of emotions which generated some thoughts, some of them I will try to express here. First, I thank Lina for her initiative and also those who helped her to make it visible and active. It is understood that the healing process for those who have been abused starts with the need to remember what has happened and experienced the liberating truth of their abuse. Healing is first and foremost a spiritual endeavour, however one must not hasten the integration of the religious dimension in this endeavour, particularly when the abusers are members of the clergy. I was disappointed though that Lina –as the real person – was not seen and only heard. Her physical presence would have empowered other survivors to trust (a fundamental human experience) the people who were present in the room (survivors, their families and friends, clergy, religious, principals, teachers, diocesan staff and many others) and by doing so, perhaps initiate a healing process which can only take place in a trusted relationship. Second, the ritual which followed the presentation was not commensurate to the initial intention, that I understood to be an atonement by the Catholic Church of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese. The definition of atonement is setting the example of being one with God, or a sacrificial act of dying for humankind sins, or the righting of a wrong. An example of atonement is the Catholic practice of confessing one’s sins. Whilst the video presentation intended to name some of the perpetrators of abuse in this diocese, as well as those who concealed their crimes, there were no verbal and public confession from the bishop or members of clergy despite them being present in the audience. Additionally apart from the promises made to play the video on a regular basis and erect a monument there is no tangible evidence (as clearly stated by Francis Sullivan and many involved in the justice process) that the diocese and the church at large are prepared to sacrifice some of their wrong beliefs and attitudes to demonstrate their willingness to change in order to be ‘one’ with the people of God. Third, the process of healing which was initiated on September 15 must be sustained. The importance of the spiritual in the healing process is no longer in doubt amongst psychologists and health professionals. However its integration requires a careful approach to avoid any risk of additional suffering by the survivors and the pastoral care providers. A number of conditions are necessary including: A. A safe environment B. Well trained and experienced professionals C. A full understanding of the spiritual and theological dimension in the lives of both survivors and care providers. The healing process must take the anthropological aspects (physical, psychological and spiritual) into account.”
“This project is very impressive and provides a devastating account of the way the church has run a secret legal system to shield abusive clergy from criminal trial not just in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle but world-wide. Survivors, families and the next generation cannnot trust the church again until Pope Francis changes canon law requiring Bishops to not conceal clergy abuse.”
“Thanks so much for organising Lina’s project. I was deeply moved by the whole night. The atmosphere was one of humility, reconciliation and healing which is so rare and yet so beautiful. My husband and I pastor a church in Macquarie Hills, it is a Pentecostal church . However, we both taught at Catholic schools on the central coast for 6 years so are familiar with the Catholic faith. I was wondering if one night in the future we could do a combined healing night, represented by all the denominations to ask for forgiveness for the sexual abuse that was committed in the Hunter region. Unfortunately it wasn't just the Catholic Church, it was most churches. I thought this could be a mark of unity, humility, validation transparency and healing. I feel we also owe God an apology for the crimes committed in his name to his people. I would be happy to work with a team and yourself to organise this. Thank you for taking the time to read this.”
"Lina, you’re amazing! Yes! It’s about time the church took responsibility as a whole. And yes, they do need to ask for forgiveness. It is the only way we can move on."
"I do not think that this aspect of the Project - nightly public projections on the Cathedral - was helpful."