AUSTRALIA
7 News
By Dan Cox, ABC
Updated July 3, 2013
Documents tendered to a New South Wales inquiry into child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley show senior Catholic Church officials knew about abuse by two paedophile priests, but failed to tell police.
The inquiry was sparked by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox.
He claims the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese did not co-operate with police, who were investigating priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden over child sexual abuse allegations.
Counsel assisting the commission today tendered numerous documents which Peter Fox said would have proved helpful with his investigations into the men.
The documents show the former Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Leo Clarke tried to defrock McAlinden, rather than tell police about the allegations.
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