AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
August 20, 2014
Cameron Houston, Jane Lee
The Catholic Church’s independent commissioner was unable to explain how he received confidential information from a victim of serial paedophile priest Kevin O’Donnell or why it was passed on to the church’s lawyers in an apparent breach of confidentiality.
The Royal Commission also raised concerns about the independence of Peter O’Callaghan, QC, who has investigated allegations of clerical abuse for the past 18 years under the church’s controversial Melbourne Response.
The church’s law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth was also questioned over its handling of files and sensitive information from three separate arms of the Melbourne Response, which claim to be independent of each other.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner Richard Leder denied any confidentiality had been compromised in his role as lawyer for the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Melbourne Response, which he helped establish in 1996.
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