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| Accused Priest ‘had His Bishop’s Blessing’
By Dan Box
The Austrlaian
January 10, 2017
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The former Anglican bishop of Ballarat David Silk sounds defensive at first when called early in the morning at his home in southwest England.
Why ask these questions about one of his priests, he must be thinking? Why dig up the past?
His tone softens when the line of questioning becomes clear. In 1996, he employed a priest who transferred from Newcastle, in NSW, where the bishop at the time was the current Archbishop of Perth, Roger Herft.
Was Monsignor Silk told at the time that child-sex allegations were made against the priest months after he arrived in the Victorian diocese, then made again in 1999? Or that the priest, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged by NSW police the following year?
No, he tells The Australian. The priest came personally recommended by Archbishop Herft.
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