Archbishop Admits : I Should Have Done More

Sky News
December 2, 2015

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/12/02/archbishop-admits--i-should-have-done-more.html

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart admits he should have done more to protect children from a paedophile priest who hit an altar boy.

A complaint that Fr Peter Searson hit the boy around the head following mass went to Archbishop Hart, then the Melbourne archdiocese vicar-general, in October 1996.

He told Searson not to go near altar servers and referred the complaint to the Melbourne Response independent commissioner, who a few days later began to handle sex abuse complaints in the archdiocese.

Child abuse royal commission chair Justice Peter McClellan said having reviewed Searson's file, Archbishop Hart would have realised it was not only altar servers who were in danger.

Archbishop Hart said he would say that now.

'I think I did what I thought at the time - on reflection, of course, I'd have to say more should have been done,' he said.

The church already knew of numerous complaints against Searson, including that he held a knife against a girl's chest and indecently assaulted another girl during confession.

Searson was never convicted of a sex offence but four people made abuse claims against him to the Catholic Church covering 1974 to 1985.

Three claims were made before he died in 2009.

The inquiry heard a small number of priests attended Searson's funeral and he is buried with other priests in the Melbourne general cemetery.

Archbishop Hart said there should not be public recognition for an accused priest but he could not stop someone going to a funeral.

'I normally go to every priest's funeral and I haven't and won't be going to the funeral of the predators.'

Victoria Police assistant commissioner Stephen Fontana will give evidence to the commission on Wednesday.