BishopAccountability.org
	The Right Use of Privilege The Australian September 13, 2011 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-right-use-of-privilege/story-e6frg71x-1226136156380 CHURCH leaders in South Australia may be embarrassed by Nick Xenophon's threat to name under parliamentary privilege a serving South Australian parish priest accused of serious sexual abuse but they have only themselves to blame. Had they dealt more swiftly with Traditional Anglican Communion primate John Hepworth's complaints, it would never have come to this. The archdiocese of Adelaide has had more than four years to resolve the serious matters raised in writing and in a series of face-to-face meetings with Vicar-General Monsignor David Cappo. Archbishop Philip Wilson, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has been curiously tardy in acting. Even now, after five days of controversy, he is yet to utter a word or issue a statement in his name, preferring his spokeswoman to split hairs about whether the original Hepworth complaint was "official". Yesterday, Senator Xenophon stuck to his guns after a church statement said "we are shocked and dismayed that Senator Xenophon has ignored our pleadings". In fact, the independent is doing the church a favour by bringing the matter out into the open, where it can now be resolved fairly, transparently and within a reasonable timeframe. The damage to the Catholic Church's reputation and the distress caused to its members by periodic allegations of sexual abuse is serious enough, but it is made worse by lack of proper process, transparency and any hint of cover-up. The Adelaide archdiocese's processes, however, have fallen down badly in this case, in contrast to the archdiocese of Melbourne's independent, arms-length system, which dealt with and resolved Archbishop Hepworth's complaint and offered $75,000 compensation.
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