AUSTRALIA
7 News
ABC
BY BRAD RYAN
June 26, 2014
A Catholic priest who criticised an investigation into allegedly abusive priest John Nestor says he did not know about the evidence in the case and it “shocked” him when he later saw it.
Canon law expert and priest of 50 years, Rev Dr Kevin Matthews, says he now believes his criticisms were “over the top” and Mr Nestor “violated many boundaries”.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is examining the case involving Mr Nestor, a former Wollongong priest who was the subject of numerous complaints about his conduct towards young boys.
After Mr Nestor was convicted of abusing an altar boy in 1996, local bishop Philip Wilson tried to remove Mr Nestor from the ministry, even though the conviction was overturned a year later.
The commission has heard Bishop Wilson’s efforts to defrock Mr Nestor were resisted by the Vatican for years, until Mr Nestor was dismissed by Pope Benedict in 2008.
Rev Matthews acted as Mr Nestor’s ‘canonical advocate’ – an adviser in canon law and “companion on the journey”.
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