Victorian court upholds ruling finding Catholic church liable for sexual abuse by paedophile priest

Landmark decision expected to help countless other survivors achieve more compensation for abuse suffered from clergy

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Victoria's highest court has ruled that the Catholic church is vicariously liable for sexual abuse by a paedophile priest because he was a servant of the diocese" whose role gave him the power and intimacy" to access and abuse children.

The decision by the Victorian court of appeal on Monday upholds the original landmark ruling, which, for the first time in Australia, found the church is vicariously liable for the abuse of its priests.

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