Catholic church failed to act on paedophile priests, says Melbourne archbishop

The Guardian
November 30, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/gs2h9ch

Melbourne archbishop Denis Hart told the royal commission on Monday: ‘I have just been totally appalled by the extent and the depravity of the [child abuse] offenders.’ Photo by Tracey Nearmy

The Catholic church failed to act on the “horror story” of paedophiles in its midst, Melbourne archbishop Denis Hart has told the royal commission.

“What is now apparent to me is that there was knowledge and a failure to act,” Hart told the child abuse royal commission.

“Reading the victims’ statements that I have in preparation for the commission, I have just been totally appalled by the extent and the depravity of the offenders and the suffering and ruination of lives of the survivors.”

Hart said there had been a terrible failure by the church resulting from the passivity or inactivity of his predecessors.

But he excluded Cardinal George Pell, the Melbourne archbishop from 1996 to 2001, from the criticism.

“As archbishop he instituted the Melbourne Response and really made big changes,” Hart said.

Hart criticised Frank Little, the Melbourne archbishop from 1974 to 1996, for his handling of abuse complaints. Hart said there was a complete failure of process in the Melbourne archdiocese’s handling of complaints in the Doveton parish, where a succession of paedophile priests were sent. He said that was down to Little and the vicar general at the time.

“It’s just a horror story. These things were being presented again and again and again, and nothing was happening.”

Senior counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, pressed Hart on whether it included Pell, who was an auxiliary bishop for Melbourne’s southern region from 1987 to 1996.

“I would have expected that he would have taken the matter up with the archbishop too,” Hart said of Pell. “I would have expected him to have an adequate degree of knowledge; whether he knew all these awful things, which make me feel ashamed, I’m not sure.”

Furness asked if Pell was part of the complete failure of process.

“Well, he’d have to explain what he did and didn’t know, but there was a complete failure of process. I don’t know what he knew and I don’t know what he did, so I’d have to say that that would have to be tested.”

Pell will give evidence to the commission’s inquiries into the Melbourne archdiocese and the Ballarat diocese from 16 December.

Hart’s statement to the commission omitted a reference to a delegation of teachers about one paedophile priest, Peter Searson, to Pell while he was auxiliary bishop in 1989. He said it was an inadvertent omission.

“I have no brief for playing down the evil of this situation. It just went on and on and on and people were placed in great danger,” Hart said.

Furness said the evil of the situation extended beyond what Searson did and to the archdiocese’s response.

Hart said: “We’ve said that, yes.”

The commission has heard that Pell indicated after meeting with the delegation of teachers that all he could do was pass the information on to the vicar general.

Hart said he personally would feel he had to take immediate action resulting in Searson being removed by Little.

“I would have been, to use his honour’s phrase, knocking heavily on the door.”

Hart said Searson showing a body in a coffin to a group of children was “just mad, psychotic”.

Hart, who reviewed the church’s files when he became vicar general under Pell in 1996, put the blame for the church’s failures in the Melbourne archdiocese on Little and vicars general Gerald Cudmore, Hilton Deakin and Peter Connors.

Asked if it was an indictment on the archdiocese, Hart said: “Well, I don’t think it can come to any other conclusion. This is a terrible, terrible story and I feel it very muchly.”

Commission data shows the church has received child sex abuse complaints from 335 people against 84 priests since 1980, covering the period 1950 to 1989.

Hart said a paralysis in the office of the archbishop was partly to blame.

“There was such a respect that only the archbishop could act, that this introduced a paralysis.”

Hart said the cases of several abusive priests being examined by the royal commission had not been properly investigated.

“When it came to complaints about Searson, the response was inadequate from Little. The archbishop didn’t act and this placed children in danger.”

Hart said he and Pell had done their best to address the abuse and help victims, even though their efforts might be regarded as imperfect.