Church Hierarchy Backtracks on Abuse Claims
By Lindy Kerin
After initially backing three priests accused of covering up the sexual abuse of altar boys in New South Wales, the Catholic Church has now issued a statement saying it has begun fresh inquiries. Two of the priests accused of turning a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in Moree and Parramatta deny they ever heard the accused, known as Father F, admit his guilt. But an internal document written at the time prepared by the third priest goes as far as listing the sex acts involved. The Broken Rites support group for sex abuse victims has condemned all the priests for not notifying police, and has renewed its calls for a Royal Commission into the Church's handling of sex abuse allegations. On on Monday night, Australia's most prominent Catholic, Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell, defended the three senior priests: Father Brian Lucas, Father John Usher and Father Wayne Peters. But last night the Catholic Church issued a statement. "The Archdiocese of Sydney is seeking further information about the 1992 meeting which involved two Sydney priests who attended as members of the national panel," the statement said. More information might go some way to clear up conflicting reports about what happened in that meeting. Just days after it happened, one of the priests, Father Wayne Peters, wrote in an internal document obtained by Four Corners that Father F had made a number of admissions. "He admitted that there had been five boys around the age of 10 and 11 that he had sexually interfered with in varying degrees between 1982 and 1984," Father Peters wrote. "He admitted that over a period of approximately 12 months he fondled the genitals of each of these boys and had oral sex." AM has tried to contact Father Brian Lucas, who is now the general secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, but he is in the United States and is unavailable. Attempts have also been made to talk to Father John Usher and Father Wayne Peters, but none of the ABC's calls have been returned. 'Unacceptable' Lawyer Andrew Morrison, who has represented church abuse victims, says the Catholic Church has not done enough. "Either the investigation by Cardinal Pell was inadequate, or he's been grossly misled," he said. "But in any event, it is clearly unacceptable that admissions having been made, as appears clearly from the internal Church letter, the police were not called in. "And the lawyers' alliance would like to know why they did not comply with their legal obligations and why the police should not now take action in respect of those members of the clergy." Bernard Barrett, from the Broken Rites support group for victims of church-related sex abuse, says the cover-ups must stop. "They should leave this sort of thing to the police or preferably a royal commission to investigate the systematic covering up or concealing or ignoring of these crimes," he said. A spokeswoman for NSW Police says detectives will review the Four Corners story. She has urged any alleged victims or anyone with information to contact their nearest police station.
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