AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury
By ELLE WATSON July 5, 2013
Bishop Michael Malone gave paedophile James Fletcher access to hundreds of children when he doubled the size of the priest’s Lochinvar parish six weeks after he was accused of sexually abusing a boy, a Hunter church abuse inquiry heard on Thursday.
Detective Chief Inspector Fox told the special commission of inquiry that the former Maitland-Newcastle Diocese bishop “defied” his request to have Fletcher removed from the parish and placed in an “office role” during the investigation.
The former Maitland policeman, who was leading the 2003 investigation into Fletcher, said he told Bishop Malone: “I cannot force you to do that but I would ask you to give consideration to it.”
Chief Inspector Fox said Fletcher had access to two more schools when the Lochinvar and Branxton parishes were merged and he was concerned the priest was running private reading classes with children.
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