AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Wednesday 25 November 2015
A number of extraordinary letters from then Melbourne archbishop Frank Little, in response to serious allegations about behaviour towards children by parish priest Peter Searson, have been revealed by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.
Little received a letter from a parent in 1982 concerning children who were scared of Searson, then priest of Our Lady of Carmel parish and school in Sunbury, Victoria, the royal commission heard on Thursday.
“Parents have no trust in his decisions,” the parent said in the letter, adding that he had instructed his own children not to go to Searson’s office unless accompanied. The commission heard Searson was renowned for his bizarre behaviour, which included placing children on his lap during confession, and teasing, touching and belittling them.
But Little responded that it was “difficult for every priest to fulfil the expectations of every parishioner entrusted to his pastoral care”.
In response to another letter from parish staff that said Searson had brought a handgun to school and threatened children with it, Little responded that he was not the correct person to alert.
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