I Trusted Bishop Mulkearns’ Actions on Abusive Priest: Army Chaplain

By Tessa Akerman
The Australian
December 11, 2015

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The principal chaplain in the Australian Army has told the child sex abuse royal commission he “implicitly trusted” former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns, who moved Gerald Ridsdale from parish to parish and did not report Ridsdale’s ­offending to police.

Monsignor Glynn Murphy was the chairman of the Ballarat Special Issues Committee from 1993-97, which he said was set up in part to respond to the Ridsdale situation and to support his ­victims.

He said during his time on the committee, it dealt with three or four historical matters of sexual abuse and no current matters. The committee did not refer anything to police as it believed it was referring anything it needed to refer through the office of the bishop.

“[Bishop Mulkearns] did not report back to us as to what he did with that material,” he said.

In a 1993 interview with Catholic Church Insurance officers, Monsignor Murphy said he met the parents of David Ridsdale, who was abused by his uncle, Gerald, and told them the diocese would defend legal ­action against Bishop Mulkearns.