AUSTRALIA
ABC – The Drum
By ABC’s Suzanne Smith
The Special Commission into sexual abuse in the Hunter is about the importance of a fundamental principle – the separation of church and state, writes Suzanne Smith.
It is the genesis of decades of suffering, the silent wrecking ball in our community behind too many broken families, too many lost and shattered lives and too much pain.” (Joanne McCarthy, The Newcastle Herald, 2012)
For many victims and their families in the northern NSW region of the Hunter, today will be a historic day.
It is the first day of hearings by the Special Commission of Inquiry set up by the premier Barry O’Farrell to investigate the police investigations into two notorious paedophile priests; Father James Fletcher and Father Denis McAlinden.
The Terms of Reference for the next two week’s inquiry is about the “circumstances in which Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox was asked to cease investigating relevant matters and whether it was appropriate to do so.”
Which brings us back to the fundamental question; why has there not been, until fairly recently, a more concerted effort by the police to investigate, with the full resources and power of the law, the most senior members of the clergy? Some police have done a tremendous job but in very difficult circumstances. Troy Grant, the current National Party MP from Dubbo, successfully prosecuted Father Vincent Ryan who had 31 victims in the Hunter. One of his victims was awarded the largest payout in Australia’s history; a sum of $3 million.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.