NEW ZEALAND
Stuff
08 April 2006
By YVONNE MARTIN
A battle against extradition by two Catholic clergymen accused of child-sex abuse has become so protracted that their religious order is axeing its financial support.
It has been a year since a Federal Court judge in Sydney reserved his decision on extraditing the 59-year-old priest and 70-year-old brother to face charges in New Zealand.
Yesterday, the court broke the unusually long wait for justice by announcing the judgment would be released in the next few weeks.
With legal fees rising, the St John of God Order has consulted its hierarchy in Rome and decided to pull its support once the matter ends in the Federal Court.