Nsw Bishop Turns down Greens Invitation

The Telegraph
September 13, 2012

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/nsw-bishop-turns-down-greens-invitation/story-e6freuz0-1226473496460

A NSW bishop's refusal to publicly debate the need for a royal commission into sex abuse by clergy shows the Catholic Church continues to hide from the issue, a Greens MP says.

Bishop William Wright, of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, was invited by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge to speak on the matter at a public forum in Newcastle on Sunday.

But in a statement, Father Barry Tunks, vicar-general of the diocese, said the invitation was declined as the question of a royal commission was a "party political" one the bishop had declined to canvass.

He said Bishop Wright had made it known that it was for the government to determine if any public inquiry would take place and what form it would take.

Fr Tunks said the diocese would cooperate fully with any inquiry and was confident it would be found to have responded well to issues revealed in the Wood Royal Commission Paedophile Inquiry in the mid-1990s.

He said Mr Shoebridge was the master of ceremonies for Sunday's meeting and had a publicly stated position supporting a royal commission, at odds with the NSW government.

"It is therefore not appropriate for the bishop nor any official representative of the diocese to attend or speak at the meeting," he said.

But Mr Shoebridge said the response from the diocese was disappointing.

"The victims and their families would have greater respect for the church if they had come out into a public forum and explained their position," he told AAP on Thursday.

"Hiding from the public and hiding from those victims and their families is yet another slap in the face to those who have been victims of sexual abuse."

Mr Shoebridge said the Catholic Church continued to hide behind a legal shield to avoid paying compensation to victims of abuse.