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Former Bishop Michael Malone Admits He "Bumbled" over Pedophile Priests

By Dan Box
The Australian
July 11, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/former-bishop-michael-malone-admits-he-bumbled-over-pedophile-priests/story-e6frg6nf-1226677701549

Michael Malone has admitted he ''bumbled'' his handling of pedophile priests at the Catholic Diocese in Newcastle. Picture: Jamie Wicks Source: News Limited

A FORMER Catholic bishop has admitted his handling of child abuse committed by priests was "bumbling" and inadequate, and that he did not report one such pedophile to police despite believing he could reoffend.

Giving evidence to the NSW special commission of inquiry this morning, Bishop Michael Malone also appeared to contradict his earlier evidence about how much he knew about this priest, Denis McAlinden.

Bishop Malone yesterday told the inquiry he had not read McAlinden's personnel file and only knew of two local victims of the priest when he took over the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, in NSW, in 1995.

However, today he said he was also aware at the time that McAlinden had previously been prosecuted for child abuse in Western Australia, although he was not convicted.

He also said he had read some documents within McAlinden's file, including internal church correspondence from decades earlier that said the priest had admitted to abusing children.

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Despite this, Bishop Malone said he initially made no attempt to identify other victims of the priest.

"It wouldn't have been because I did not want to know, it would have been because the whole area of sexual abuse was so distasteful," he said. "I would have found it very unpalatable.

"I think the early years of my being bishop were fairly bumbling when it came to dealing with sexual abuse ... I was not adequately handling these matters."

The bishop said he did not report McAlinden to police even after receiving a letter from the priest in 1995 in which he admitted to abusing children.

"Didn't that increase your concern that he would continue to prey on children?" counsel assisting the inquiry, Julia Lonergan, SC, asked.

"Certainly, because as I understand it, there's little or no cure," Bishop Malone replied.

He also ignored McAlinden's suggestion in the letter that "if you will advise it, I would be prepared to go to police and accuse myself."

Even after another of his priests, Vince Ryan, was jailed for child abuse in 1997, Bishop Malone did not report McAlinden to police, saying he had been told that two of the priest's victims did not wish to pursue charges against him.

Instead, McAlinden was able to travel to the UK, Philippines and Western Australia, where he continued to work as a priest and had access to children.

Bishop Malone told the inquiry he had not seen a letter sent by one of his senior clerics in 1996 saying police intended "laying charges of misprision of felony relating to all cases of criminal sexual abuse".

Under the NSW Crimes Act, misprision of felony made it an offence punishable by jail not to report a serious crime to police. The law was reformed in 1990 but NSW Police have subsequently pursued a number of historical offences under the act.

Had he seen this 1996 letter, Bishop Malone said, "the matter would have been pursued with more vigour ... reporting it to the police."

McAlinden died in 2005 without being charged by NSW Police.

 

 

 

 

 




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