AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
Father Ronald Mulkearns, ex-Catholic bishop of Ballarat testifies in priest’s child sex case
SHANNON DEERY HERALD SUN JULY 29, 2015
KEEPER of secrets Father Ronald Mulkearns has broken his silence about how he handled complaints of child sexual abuse while the Catholic bishop of Ballarat for more than two decades.
Until now Fr Mulkearns has avoided giving evidence at inquiries into institutional sexual abuse, citing health issues, meaning three decades of secrets from his tenure in Ballarat have remained sealed.
But he has been forced to testify in a prosecution against former priest Robert Claffey who is charged with a string of sexual assault charges.
Mr Claffey is charged with 14 counts of indecent assault, one count of committing an indecent act on a child under the age of 16 and one count of buggery on a girl.
Fr Mulkearns appeared at the Geelong Magistrates Court today but gave little away in his first sitting, answering “I don’t recall” to more than a dozen questions.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.