AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
Catholic Bishop of Lismore admits during Royal Commission into child sex abuse he failed to report cases to the Vatican
BY THOMAS ORITI
December 19, 2013
A Catholic Bishop in northern New South Wales has admitted to a child abuse inquiry he did not abide by an instruction from the Pope for five years.
The Bishop of the Diocese of Lismore, Geoffrey Jarrett, has been recalled to give evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney.
In 2001, the Pope ordered Bishops around the world to report any allegations of child sexual abuse to the Vatican if there was a “semblance of truth” in the case.
Reverend Jarrett became a Bishop in the same year.
A complaint was made against Lismore priest Father Paul Rex Brown in 2002, but it was not referred to the Vatican at the time.
Reverend Jarrett has conceded he was not aware of the Pope’s requirement until 2006, saying some directives “may not be remembered or acted upon”.
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