AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Tawar Razaghi
The Catholic Church took two years to defrock New South Wales paedophile priest John Joseph Farrell after a report found he posed a risk to children, a royal commission has heard.
Former Armidale Bishop Luc Matthys has been giving evidence to the commission as it looks into how the church dealt with decades of abuse allegations made against Farrell.
In 2003, the church received a damning report commissioned by Encompass, a church-based organisation, that identified Farrell’s pattern of behaviour as being long term and that he was “accountable to no-one”.
When questioned why the church did not act immediately on the report, Bishop Matthys said the process at the time was arduous.
“In those days you couldn’t get a laicisation [de-frocking] done without the cooperation and knowledge of the person,” Bishop Matthys said.
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