Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns "Profoundly Sorry" for Moving Suspect Priests to New Parishes

By Jane Lee
Sydney Morning Herald
December 15, 2015

http://www.smh.com.au/national/former-ballarat-bishop-ronald-mulkearns-profoundly-sorryformovingsuspect-priests-to-new-parishes-20151215-glnqxc.html

Ronald Mulkearns was the bishop of Ballarat between 1971 and 1997. Photo: Supplied

The former bishop of Ballarat struggles to sleep at night and is "profoundly sorry" for moving priests accused of child sexual abuse to different parishes, one of his former advisers has told a royal commission.

Ronald Mulkearns, Bishop of Ballarat between 1971 and 1997, presided over decisions to move priests, including paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, between parishes in the diocese, despite child sexual abuse allegations against them.

He was to attend the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in the past fortnight, but was excused from testifying as he is currently receiving palliative care.

Former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns attended an earlier hearing in Geelong. Photo: Alicia Thomas

A number of his former advisers have testified that he often decided on the appointments of such priests without providing explanation or seeking their approval.

One of his former advisers, Father John McKinnon, told the commission on Tuesday that he had started visiting Bishop Mulkearns "from time to time" in the past year but had not discussed this period with him because his "memory is much worse than mine, so it's useless doing it".

They had, he said, discussed the past more generally.

"You know he says he struggles to sleep ... he probably still struggles to sleep of a night and so these things now are on his mind but beyond that there wasn't much more we could say; he didn't remember details but he was profoundly sorry for what he'd done," Father McKinnon said.

"Yeah for his — what he hadn't done, I suppose, is more like it."

Later, a survivor. referred to as BPD. told the commission he met Bishop Mulkearns about 1993 about becoming a priest. BPD told the bishop he had changed his mind about being ordained after he had seen Father David Ryan, who had sexually abused him as a child.

"I told him I thought Father Ryan had gone out of the priesthood but that he was still there and he still had his hands on people."

BPD said: "Bishop Mulkearns did not act surprised. He didn't even display any emotional response at all."

The bishop recorded details of BPD's abuse in a file and told him "It is in my hands, there's no need to go police. I'll fix it and give you a ring."

BPD said he did not report his abuse to police and never heard from Bishop Mulkearns again.