Catholic Church Official Tells Nsw Inquiry Abuse Victims Did Not Want Paedophile Priest Reported to Police

ABC News
July 24, 2013

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-25/inquiry-told-bishop-didn27t-need-to-know-about-priest27s-conf/4842212

One of the Australia's most senior Catholic Church officials says he did not tell police about a Hunter Valley paedophile priest because he did not want to betray the victims.

Father Brian Lucas is a former lawyer and the current general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops conference.

He is giving evidence at the New South Wales inquiry investigating claims the church covered up abuse by two Maitland-Newcastle priests, Father James Fletcher and Father Denis McAlinden.

He yesterday told the inquiry it was his role to "seduce paedophile priests" to resign, but today said a better word would be to encourage.

Counsel assisting the inquiry told Father Lucas could have gone to police after McAlinden confessed the abuse to him in 1993.

But Father Lucas said he was in a predicament after speaking with McAlinden's victims, who said they did not want police informed.

He said he never felt able to go to the authorities and would never have betrayed a victim's trust.

Father Lucas said he would have told police about the confession if they had asked.

The commission also heard Father Lucas said he did not need to tell the Maitland-Newcastle bishop about McAlinden's confession.

He said the bishop "didn't need to know the names of the victims to fulfil his child protections obligations", he "only needed to know the outcome of the meeting" - that the paedophile priest had resigned and should never work for the church again.

He also said he did not take notes because he did not want them used later in court.

Father Lucas told the commission the best way to protect children from a paedophile priest was to take away his ministry.

Counsel assisting the commission said that "to simply remove him from ministry doesn't solve the problem".

But Father Lucas rejected that, saying it goes a "long way towards protecting children into the future".

However, he conceded the process of removing McAlinden's ability to work as a priest failed, because he ended up working in a parish with a school in the Philippines.

The inquiry continues.