Calls to Widen Clergy Inquiry across State
By Sean Nicholls
A SPECIAL commission of inquiry with the powers of a royal commission will examine claims of interference in police investigations of alleged paedophile priests in the Hunter region and could lead to a state-wide examination of clergy child sex abuse. The inquiry, announced by the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, on Friday, will be headed by the NSW deputy senior Crown prosecutor, Margaret Cunneen. It comes amid calls for the resignation of the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, over the way he has handled the issue. ''What I'm determined to do is ensure those who have robbed young children of their futures are brought to justice,'' Mr O'Farrell said. But the senior police officer who prompted the inquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, said it was inadequate. Inspector Fox had called for a state-wide royal commission into sex abuse and the church, and said the limited special commission focusing on one region was an ''insult''. ''That's not the central issue that everyone has been talking about and that I raised,'' he said. ''What the central issue is, it's about the cover-up and the handling within the church. ''If we're going to do it, let's do it properly, these kids and these families deserve much more than that … don't slap them in the face and walk away with a half answer.'' Inspector Fox wrote to Mr O'Farrell on Wednesday night calling on him to establish a royal commission into sexual abuse by priests, warning that the victims are coming forward in ever-increasing numbers. ''I can testify from my own experience that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church,'' he wrote. Mr O'Farrell has said he and the NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, believe a royal commission should not go ahead while there are police investigations under way. The Premier has rejected calls by the NSW Greens for a royal commission as ''politically motivated'' and also resisted calls to emulate the Victorian government's parliamentary inquiry into clergy sexual abuse. During the announcement, Mr O'Farrell said the inquiry would likely be confined to issues raised by Inspector Fox in the Hunter region because ''it's best to pursue the evidence''. He said any request by Ms Cunneen for broader terms of reference would be considered, and left open the possibility of a wider inquiry. ''I will wait for Margaret Cunneen's report before we determine what, if any, further action is required,'' he said. Earlier, the Nationals MP and former police inspector Troy Grant, who led the watershed paedophilia investigation of priest Vincent Ryan, called on Cardinal Pell to resign. ''If Pell hasn't got the capacity or courage to tackle this front-on then he should step aside and let somebody in there that does,'' Mr Grant said. He welcomed the Premier's inquiry but said a national royal commission was also needed, as accused priests were often transferred interstate. ''We must put the victims' welfare and interests first, and that's what the church has never done,'' he said. Mr O'Farrell said he had ''some sympathy'' for Mr Grant's view about a national inquiry but declined to join his call for Cardinal Pell's resignation. ''I'm not going to tell the Catholic Church how to do their work,'' he said. A spokeswoman for the Sydney Catholic Archdiocese accused Mr Grant of making ''false, misleading and defamatory remarks'' about Cardinal Pell's record on combating clergy sexual abuse. She said Cardinal Pell had a ''record of serious commitment and effort to eradicate this evil from the Church''. The Opposition Leader, John Robertson, called for a wider inquiry into child sexual abuse, while the Greens MP David Shoebridge said the inquiry was ''a decoy'' and it should focus on the church, not the police.
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