Scipione welcomes abuse report

Daily Telegraph
June 2, 2014

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/scipione-welcomes-abuse-report/story-fni0xqi3-1226939943688

The NSW police commissioner has welcomed the Special Commission of Inquiry report into child abuse.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the senior officers caught up in allegations of cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle can now hold their heads up high.

A four-volume Special Commission of Inquiry report, released on Friday, uncovered no evidence to show senior police officers tried to block the child abuse investigations.

The inquiry found Detective Inspector Peter Fox - who alleged there had been a cover up - was not a credible witness and also said it was appropriate for police to instruct him to stop his own investigations.

The inquiry looked at how the church handled complaints about former priests Denis McAlinden and Jim Fletcher, both now dead.

Three volumes have been released, while the fourth is confidential.

Mr Scipione on Monday acknowledged the efforts of Commissioner Margaret Cunneen and her team in conducting the inquiry.

"The commission found there was 'no credible evidence' of any wrongdoing by those officers undertaking their investigations or their commanders. The commission probed forensically into the role police played," he said in a statement.

"She also observed it was a complex investigation and there's no question it presented challenges for those who undertook that work.

"Those officers can hold their heads up high. We are proud of them. Their motivation was to seek justice for victims - they had no other motivation.

"They can now get back on with their lives and do what they do best - protecting the community," he said.

Meanwhile, the Australian Greens and survivor advocates have challenged the findings.

Abuse survivor's advocate Carol Clarke said their were flaws in the way Mr Fox's evidence was treated and the royal commission needed to examine that. Fellow advocate and rally participant Nicky Davis echoed the call for the royal commission to get to the bottom of what went on in the diocese.

"We believe Mr Fox's reputation will be restored when the full truth is known," she said at a rally on Saturday outside NSW Parliament House.