AUSTRALIA
ABC News
Updated July 03, 2012
[Unholy Silence – Four Corners]
The Roman Catholic Church is again embroiled in claims of a cover-up over its handling of child sexual assault allegations involving priests.
The ABC’s Four Corners program has revealed the church failed to pass on admissions by a priest to police.
The program detailed several cases in which priests were merely moved on when the church was made aware of sexual abuse claims against them.
Four Corners obtained documents showing a New South Wales priest, from the parishes of Moree and later Parramatta, who is accused of abusing young boys, made clear admissions during a meeting with three senior priests, but they never referred the matter to police.
Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal George Pell, has defended the church’s handling of sexual abuse cases.
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