Catholic Church responds to findings into NSW paedophile priests

ABC - The World Today
June 3, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2014/s4017660.htm?site=newcastle

ELEANOR HALL: The Catholic Church has responded publicly for the first time to the special commission of inquiry which handed down its findings into two paedophile priests last week.

The inquiry found that senior officials within the Catholic Church knew about sexual abuse allegations against the priests for decades, but failed to act to protect vulnerable children in their care.

The Bishop of the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese, Bill Wright, today expressed his "deep and abiding regret".

As Thomas Oriti reports.

THOMAS ORITI: Australia now has a royal commission examining child sexual abuse at institutions across the country.

But before it was established, a special commission of inquiry in New South Wales spent months examining sexual abuse at the hands of two priests in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese - James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.

Allegations dated back as early as 1949, but the inquiry found church officials allowed the abuse to continue for decades.

Both priests are now dead.

Days after the findings were handed down, the bishop of the Diocese has finally spoken.

Bishop Bill Wright says it's been a difficult 18 months, and the Diocese is ashamed.

BILL WRIGHT: I am profoundly sorry for the terrible hurt caused by the crimes of McAlinden and Fletcher, and I have a deep and abiding regret that individuals in this Diocese failed to protect the most vulnerable.

Cooperating with the investigations conducted by commissioner Cunneen stretched the capacities of the Diocese and tested our endurance at times. That was as it had to be.

THOMAS ORITI: The findings confirm something he already knew - that the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has a troubled history.

Bishop Wright apologised during the commission's public hearings, acknowledging that McAlinden and Fletcher were "predators" who used their position in the Diocese to gain access to children and conceal their acts.

But he says some of the report comes as a surprise.

BILL WRIGHT: Some of the specific detail in this report is news to me. My child protection people, the specialists in the Diocese, are analysing the report for any additional lessons we can learn to improve our practices in protecting children and in working with those who were harmed in the past.

THOMAS ORITI: The damning findings aren't limited to the Catholic Church.

Commissioner Margaret Cunneen described the police whistleblower, detective chief inspector Peter Fox, as a "zealot".

But victim support groups have expressed concern that the attention towards Peter Fox will shift focus away from the criticism of the clergy.

The findings questioned the credibility of Monsignor Allan Hart, who was the vicar-general of the Diocese in the 1990s and remains a priest there.

MARGARET CUNNEEN (voiceover): The commission formed the view that, in some respects, Monsignor Allan Hart was an unsatisfactory and unimpressive witness.

THOMAS ORITI: Commissioner Cunneen also found that another former vicar-general, Father William Burston, avoided responding to evidence alleging he knew about Denis McAlinden's behaviour.

MARGARET CUNNEEN (voiceover): Regular responses of "I don't recollect" were a feature of his testimony, such that the commission formed the view there was a reluctance on his part to fully consider questions put to him or to explore his memory for information that might assist the commission.

THOMAS ORITI: Bishop Bill Wright today revealed he's taken action against both men.

BILL WRIGHT: I have asked Monsignor Hart and Father Burston to stand aside from any of the advisory councils or official structures of the Diocese, you know, that advise me on these or other issues.

It would clearly be inappropriate for them to be advising me at this time.

THOMAS ORITI: But some of the findings remain a mystery.

A confidential section contains details about potential criminal proceedings, and today, Bishop Wright acknowledged at least one senior figure from the church is involved.

He admits there's a long journey ahead.

BILL WRIGHT: We still have the Lantle Strike Force investigation ongoing, and there may yet be more consequences from that. And of course, the royal commission in its time may take interest in affairs here in Newcastle, Maitland-Newcastle as well.

So the Cunneen commission's a highly significant report, but I'm also frightfully conscious that it is part of an ongoing process as well in the community.

ELEANOR HALL: That's the Bishop of the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese in New South Wales, Bill Wright, ending that report from Thomas Oriti.