Child sex abuse royal commission: Former Ballarat school headmaster 'cannot remember' complaints

By Jessica Longbottom
ABC News
February 23, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/hd29cfh

Abuse survivors heading to Rome hold a poster outside a child abuse royal commission hearing in Ballarat.

The former headmaster of a Ballarat school where a notorious paedophile operated says he cannot remember any sexual abuse complaints ever being made against the teacher, a royal commission has heard.

Brother Paul Nangle, who was headmaster of St Patrick's College from 1974 to 1979, has given evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

He was questioned about his knowledge of Brother Edward Dowlan who worked at the school at the time, and was later convicted of molesting dozens of boys.

In a frustrating day of evidence for survivors, Brother Nangle answered many questions with "I can't recall", or "I can't remember", despite previous evidence at least four complaints were made to him about Brother Dowlan.

The now 84-year-old said he only remembered one accusation of corporal punishment levelled against Brother Dowlan, and never anything of a sexual nature.

Brother Nangle said Brother Dowlan apologised to that family, and he did not think he needed to take further action.

"I thought the matter was now finished and I didn't see any further action to take," Brother Nangle said.

In a written statement, the mother of the boy said her son had been belted from his lower back to the top of his legs with a belt buckle, and the imprint of the buckle could be seen on her son's skin.

She said the police and a doctor were called, as well as Brother Nangle.

She said Brother Nangle asked her not to press charges.

"He [Nangle] said it would be a big blot on the Catholic Church and it would have been bad for St Patrick's College," the woman's statement said.

When questioned about the event, Brother Nangle said he did not recall it.

"I think if it occurred, I'm surprised I don't remember it, but I have no recollection of the event," he said.

The commission has heard evidence the school's Student Representative Council also told Brother Nangle that Brother Dowlan was abusing boys.

It heard Brother Nangle then sacked the council and forced the student who made the report to apologise to the school at an assembly.

When questioned, Brother Nangle said he had no memory of the event.

In another incident, a boy was expelled from the school after being rowdy in the dorms one night.

When his parents arrived at the school in the morning, his mother said the student intimated he had been abused and she shared that information in a meeting with her husband and Brother Nangle.

Brother Nangle said he did not recall that being said, just that the boy was in an agitated state.

"The disturbed conditions under which he may have made the statement, means it may not have registered much with me," he said.

Frustrated with the evidence at one point, commission chair Peter McClellan questioned Brother Nangle directly.

"Each of these matters are serious. And they're the kind of things to stick in a headmaster's memory aren't they?" he asked.

"Yes," Brother Nangle answered.

"So are you saying your memory's failing you or have all these people got it wrong?" Mr McClellan asked.

"I can only tell you what I can and can't remember," Brother Nangle replied.

It is alleged Brother Nangle received numerous complaints that several of his teachers were abusing children, but did nothing to stop it.

The focus of this hearing is the response of the Christian Brothers in Victoria to allegations of child sex abuse made against six brothers working at schools in the Diocese of Ballarat.

Fifty-six people have made claims in regards to abuse in Ballarat Christian Brothers schools.

The former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns, who is accused of knowingly moving paedophile priests around the diocese, is scheduled to appear at the commission on Thursday.

Cardinal George Pell will give evidence to the commission via videolink from a hotel in Rome next week about what he knew about sex abuse in the Diocese of Ballarat and Melbourne when he worked in Australia.

A group of 15 sex abuse survivors and supporters will travel to Italy to see him give evidence in person.