Ombudsman Report Slams Church

Newcastle Herald
July 19, 2013

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1650049/ombudsman-report-slams-church/?cs=305

A PREVIOUSLY unreleased NSW Ombudsman's report says Bishop Michael Malone failed to appropriately manage child abuse allegations against paedophile priest Jim Fletcher.

The 2004 report was triggered by a March 2003 complaint by whistleblowing police officer Peter Fox and has been referred to repeatedly at the Special Commission of Inquiry in Newcastle.

Short sections were tendered to the inquiry late yesterday and made public.

They show the ombudsman investigated the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations, which was responsible for handling Church child abuse allegations from 1999.

The ombudsman made a number of "findings and adverse comments", although the detail was left off the version made public.

"It was these failures that caused or contributed to Bishop Malone's failure to appropriately manage the child abuse allegations against Father Fletcher," the report said.

"In particular, that Bishop Malone:

? failed to follow the Towards Healing protocol, failed to notify the [Catholic Commission for Employment Relations] about the child abuse allegations against Father Fletcher; and

? informed Father Fletcher of the child abuse allegations against him, knowing that the matter was intended to be, or had been, reported to the police, and before seeking advice from police about his actions."

The report said Bishop Malone failed to adequately address the risks to children by failing to give "due consideration" to police advice to stand Fletcher down.

He also failed to keep records of his dealings with Branxton principal Will Callinan and others.

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The ombudsman's investigators didn't know if Bishop Malone's actions adversely affected the police inquiry but it was possible his visit to Branxton led to physical evidence being destroyed and testimony being contaminated.

The investigators were "particularly concerned" about Bishop Malone's understanding of the presumption of innocence, saying a "risk assessment" must be done to see whether an accused person "poses a risk that needs to be managed".

The ombudsman was also concerned about Bishop Malone's contention (in 2003) that he would "in similar circumstances" again tell a priest of the criminal allegations against him.

"This demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand and follow the Towards Healing protocol," the report said.