AUSTRALIA
9 News
The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has rejected claims that senior priests failed to refer evidence of child sexual abuse to authorities 20 years ago, amid renewed calls for a royal commission into the scandal-plagued church.
The home diocese of the most senior Catholic clergy in Australia, Cardinal George Pell, says a former Armidale priest known only as “Father F” never made specific admissions when he met with Sydney priests Father Lucas and Monsignor Usher in 1992.
The statement is a response to claims aired by the ABC Four Corners program on Monday that Father F admitted to sexual abuse at the 1992 meeting and the Catholic Church in Australia covered up the evidence.
A third priest present at the meeting – Father Peters – wrote an account of the meeting in a private letter to the Armidale bishop, the Sydney diocese says.
“Neither Fr Lucas nor Monsignor Usher was aware of the existence and contents of Fr Peters’ letter until it was raised by the 4 Corners program,” the diocese said on Wednesday.
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