Adelaide Archdiocese Hepworth Account Disputed, The Cathnews, September 18, 2011

Adelaide Archdiocese Hepworth Account Disputed

The Cathnews
September 18, 2011

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=28314

Archbishop John Hepworth, from a screenshot of a video on YouTube

A third party, who attended the meetings between Monsignor David Cappo and Archbishop John Hepworth, has disputed some claims made by the Adelaide archdiocese in its defence of accusations by Senator Nick Xenophon, reports The Australian.

Cheryl Woodman, the chairwoman of the professional standards board of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia, said that contrary to claims by the archdiocese that the Traditional Anglican Communion's Archbishop Hepworth had not lodged a formal complaint until this year, in November 2008 he had formally requested Archbishop Philip Wilson to take his case to Rome.

"In early 2009 Archbishop Hepworth requested details of the outcome and was told by Monsignor Cappo, 'We don't write letters like that'," the statement said.

Ms Woodman said that "in the search for justice" she had sought a meeting with Cardinal George Pell that took place in April last year: "The immediate outcome was a referral to the process of the archdiocese of Melbourne.

"The Melbourne process was completed in August this year in a timely, professional, pastoral manner. The 50-page report found that abuse occurred in South Australia."

However, a South Australian Catholic Communications spokeswoman said yesterday: "The archdiocese refutes this version of events and stands by its previous statement, which clearly explains that Archbishop Hepworth did not give permission for an investigation to proceed until February this year."

Archbishop Hepworth said he spoke to SA police yesterday and had given the Adelaide archdiocese until next week to adopt the Melbourne process or he would instigate a full-scale police inquiry as "a last resort".

Archbishop Wilson said Monsignor Cappo had been prevented from leading mental health reform "because of the totally erroneous allegations made against him over the past few days", the report adds.

Separately, The Canberra Times reports that Archbishop Hepworth has been accused of financial mismanagement in parishes in Victoria and South Australia.

Archbishop John Hepworth openly discusses the allegations, including charges he faced in a Ballarat court for allegedly misappropriating Anglican parish funds.

But he claims his detractors are using the allegations to smear him as he battles the Archdiocese of Adelaide for action the priest who allegedly abused him sexually.

Archbishop Hepworth claims he left the Catholic priesthood and fled Australia in fear and disgust to London after years of sexual abuse, including rape, in Adelaide, at several locations in Victoria, and in Europe.

But some in the Adelaide Catholic Archdiocese allege the real reason he left was because of financial irregularities at Glenelg, one of Adelaide's biggest and wealthiest parishes where he was administrator between January and November 1974.

Archbishop Hepworth said that the Glenelg allegations were "a continued repetition of the stuff used to blackmail me".