LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian
January 24, 2020
By Christopher Knaus
Lismore diocese plans to seek permanent stay in court to stop priest suing for abuse he suffered while a 12-year-old altar boy
The Catholic church is attempting to stop one of its own priests from suing it for child abuse because he took too long to come forward, prompting criticism that it has learned nothing from the royal commission.
The Lismore diocese plans to seek a permanent stay in the New South Wales supreme court to prevent one of its priests from suing for abuse he suffered as a 12-year-old altar boy.
Court documents allege the altar boy was abused in the 1960s by Clarence “David” Anderson, a now-dead priest. The abuse is said to have occurred at a church on the north coast of New South Wales, which sat on the grounds of a boarding school.
Anderson was a priest and religious teacher and the boy was a boarder. On one occasion, the accuser alleges he was abused in the sacristy of the church, where he had been the altar boy, following morning mass.
The Catholic church is defending the claim and last week wrote to the plaintiff’s lawyer, Mark Barrow of Ken Cush and Associates, demanding the priest drop the case by 6 February, warning it will pursue him for legal costs if he doesn’t.
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