Child Sex Abuse Royal Commission: Former Newcastle Bishop Says He Never Knew of Allegations against Rushton
By Dan Cox
A former bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle has denied ever being told allegations that one of his priests, Peter Rushton, had sexually abused children. Former bishop Alfred Holland today gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining abuse within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. The commission yesterday heard paedophile priest Rushton worked across the diocese from 1963, but allegations of sexual abuse involving him only came to light after his death in 2007. Former Wallsend Sunday school teacher Pamela Wilson today said she was told the son of an assistant priest had been abused by Rushton when he was four or five years old. Ms Wilson decided to write to the bishop to express her concern, but when Rushton found out she said he phoned her to threaten her not to. She told the commission Rushton said: "I want you to destroy [the letter] immediately because, if you don't, you'll get a solicitor's letter sent to you quicker than you can turn around." "I hung up the phone and was thinking to myself: 'Well, evil rides around the church. The whispers I had heard were really true.'" Ms Wilson said the family told Bishop Holland but he did not believe them. But Bishop Holland, who was in charge of the diocese from 1978 to 1992, denied the allegation. "I couldn't possibly have let something like that go by. It didn't happen," he said. "I absolutely deny any disclosure was made to me. If it had been made, I'd be almost bound to have the responsibility of acting on it." The hearings were told Bishop Holland promoted Rushton to the position of Maitland archdeacon because he "was an efficient operator". Counsel assisting the commission Naomi Sharp questioned Bishop Holland on whether he knew of any allegations against Rushton. Holland: I knew nothing about allegations against him. He was a competent priest, a competent leader, and I thought he would do well as an archdeacon. Sharp: Did you make any inquiries about his personal life before you appointed him to the position of archdeacon? Holland: No, I didn't. I would have thought that would have been an abuse of his natural rights. Sharp: Do you accept now that, prior to the time that you promoted Rushton to archdeacon, he had in fact sexually abused children? Do you accept that the checks you conducted before making that appointment, may not have been sufficiently thorough? Holland: If I'd have known there were allegations against Rushton, he would never have been appointed archdeacon.
Commissioner Peter McClellan asked Bishop Holland: "You were the head of the diocese at the time ... and you had licensed Rushton, which allowed him to have access through his church work, hadn't you?" "I licensed him to be a parish priest at Wallsend," Bishop Holland replied. The commissioner said: "That licence allowed him access to many, many children. Do you accept any responsibility in having failed to exercise your management responsibilities effectively?" "I don't acknowledge responsibility, because I didn't know any allegations had been made against Rushton," Bishop Holland said. Ms Sharp added, "Do you agree that something was seriously wrong in your management of the diocese given that you say that you had no inkling Peter Rushton was abusing children?" "No, I don't think that follows. If I did not know he was abusing children, I'd have no reason to act," Bishop Holland said. 'I never received such allegations' St Albans boys' home at Cessnock operated for two years during Bishop Holland's tenure before closing. Bishop Holland told the commission we was never made aware of allegations of rampant sexual abuse at St Albans. Sharp: Given that St Albans boys' homes was administered by the diocese, does it concern you in any way, that you as the head of the diocese was never made aware of allegations of sexual abuse? Holland: It would concern me, yes — I never received such allegations. Sharp: Is it your evidence that during your time as bishop, you never had an inkling that there were any allegations of sexual abuse occurring at St Albans boys' home? Holland: That is right. Sharp: And just to be clear, your evidence today is that you had never been informed of allegations of child sexual abuse against priests that you had licensed? Holland: That is right. Concerns about interring paedophile priest's ashes under pulpit Former Reverend Roger Dyer, who describes himself as a whistleblower on clergy abuse, also gave evidence at the commission today. He said he was threatened after raising concerns about Rushton's ashes being interred under the church pulpit inside St Luke's at Wallsend. He added then Bishop Brian Farran did not think it was unusual for Rushton to be interred in the church he once served. Reverend Dyer also told the commission he was the victim of a vicious backlash, after using the 2010 Synod to raise fears about sexual abuse within the diocese. He said he was asked to resign, forced to go onto a "small salary continuance policy" and advised by a colleague to leave the country. Reverend Dyer said no bishop would offer him a position after speaking out, and he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his time as minister at St Luke's. Hearings still to hear from bishops Herft and Farran The two-week public hearings at Newcastle courthouse will look at the past and present systems, policies and practices within the diocese for responding to allegations of child sexual abuse. The case study will look at the response by the diocese to allegations made against a number of clergy and lay people within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. They include Graeme Lawrence, Gregory Goyette, Andrew Duncan, Bruce Hoare, Graeme Sturt, Peter Rushton, Ian Barrack, James Michael Brown, and another Anglican priest. There are 31 witnesses during the case study, including former lord mayor John McNaughton, as well as former bishops Roger Herft and Brian Farran. The hearings continue before Justice Peter McClellan, Commissioner Bob Atkinson, and Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.