Abuse Inquiry to Reopen for Church Officials

By Dan Box
The Australian
August 28, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/abuse-inquiry-to-reopen-for-church-officials/story-e6frg6nf-1226705652616

A NSW inquiry into the alleged cover-up of child abuse within the Catholic church will reopen its public hearings to consider evidence from two of the most senior Catholics officials in the country.

The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry, which held the last of its eight weeks of public hearings earlier this month, will reconvene for an additional hearing in Sydney in September.

The two witnesses who have been called to give evidence are Brian Lucas, the general-secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, and John Usher, the chancellor of the archdiocese of Sydney.

Father Lucas has previously given evidence before the inquiry, saying he and Monsignor Usher personally met about 35 alleged pedophile priests during the early 1990s, most of whom were subsequently convinced to resign.

This "secret and discreet"' process meant potential scandal could be contained within the church, Father Lucas told the inquiry.

It "was certainly the case"' that part of the inducement offered to the priests was that by resigning, they would avoid any potential involvement by the police, he said.