AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Giselle Wakatama and staff
A web of child sexual abuse in the Newcastle Anglican diocese has alleged links to politicians, business people, doctors and members of the city’s legal fraternity, the ABC understands.
Inquiries into abuse incidents in the diocese are underway by a police strike force and the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse.
Several alleged paedophile rings with links to local schools and children’s homes are also being investigated.
Newcastle’s Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson said there were also allegations of Anglican and Catholic clergy protecting each other.
“If your ministry team exists in a small town, they know each other,” he said.
“Then clearly there are questions to be asked about those relationships and how they operated and how they were protecting each other.”
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