AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
July 19, 2015
Eamonn Duff
Sun-Herald senior investigative writer
A Catholic priest has been found guilty of common assault and dismissed from his Sydney parish after he smacked a child in church.
Three days before Holy Communion, eight-year-old Peter* was “grabbed” in the St John Vianney Catholic Church at Greenacre by Father Terrence Millard, “positioned” in front of a symbolic image of Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross and then punished with a “smack” to the upper buttocks for perceived bad behaviour.
When an alarmed teacher reported the incident to the school principal, it triggered a domino effect involving the Catholic Education Office, the NSW Police Force, criminal charges and a court case in which a finding of guilt was delivered – with no conviction recorded against the priest.
After a turbulent 10 months, Peter’s distraught parents were happy with the judgement and thought they had found closure.
They were wrong.
A fortnight ago, and just days after the magistrate’s ruling, the boy’s family became aware of a buzz of chatter among the church community that the priest had “won the case.”
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