Catholic Church to Remove Plaque Featuring Sex Offender Priest from Tasmanian Cathedral
By Stephen Pigram
A controversial plaque on Hobart's St Mary's Cathedral featuring a former Catholic priest convicted of sex offences will be removed after victims of child abuse called for it to be taken down. The artwork, from the 1980s and attached to an external wall of the cathedral, depicts the late Philip Green, who held the title of monsignor. In 2004, Green pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a former altar boy and was given a three-month suspended prison sentence. On Thursday, the Archdiocese of Hobart said it had "no immediate plans" to remove the plaque, which also honours former archbishop Sir Guilford Young. But Tasmanian Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous has since ordered that it be taken down. Former Catholic priest Julian Punch, who said he was also assaulted by Green, publicly called for the removal of the plaque in his book, Gay With God. He welcomed the announcement, but also said it should have been removed years ago. "This is the way it should be," he said." "It's about self-determination, it's about people being able to negotiate their situation rather than the church, from the top down, controlling people, dominating and abusing people." The decision came after Archbishop Porteous consulted with victims of clerical sexual abuse, who supported Mr Punch's calls. Victim's support group Beyond Abuse said it was "disgraceful" and should have never been erected it. Spokesman Steve Fisher said was "glorifying one of their paedophiles and saying basically we don't care". The plaque will be removed next week.
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