No official complaints about Herft

By Nick Butterly
West Australian
September 07, 2016

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/32549977/no-official-complaints-about-herft/#page1

Another bishop would have to make a complaint against Archbishop Roger Herft. Photo by Bill Hatto

The peak body of the Anglican Church says another bishop would have to make a complaint to force Perth Archbishop Roger Herft from his job.

But the Church’s special internal tribunal is yet to get an official complaint about the Archbishop.

The details come amid expectations in some parts of the Church that Archbishop Herft is preparing to stand down after admitting to a royal commission that he let down survivors of child sexual abuse.

Should he resign, Archbishop Herft would be the highest ranking casualty of the long-running Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A spokesman for Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier, who is the head of the Anglican Church in Australia, toldThe West Australian that any administrative action against Archbishop Herft would have to be brought on by another senior Church figure.

“Any complaint to the Anglican Church about Archbishop Roger Herft flowing from the Royal Commission would be made to the Special Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia,” the spokesman said.

“At present no such complaint has been made,” he said.

“In the current circumstances, the complaint would have to be made by another Anglican bishop.”

Should the tribunal find against Archbishop Herft, it could recommend he be deposed from holy orders — meaning he would effectively be banned from practising as an Anglican priest.

The tribunal could also recommend more specific penalties such as preventing him from taking part in certain functionary or administration roles.

The royal commission was told that Archbishop Herft was repeatedly warned about paedophile priests in Newcastle but failed to alert police.

Archbishop Herft, who served as the Bishop of Newcastle between 1993 and 2005 before heading up the Church in Perth, confirmed he was told on three occasions the defrocked dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence had sexually abused children, yet failed to report the information to police.

Archbishop Herft admitted to the royal commission he gave “incorrect” evidence when he testified previously no one raised issues of concern with him about Mr Lawrence.

Archbishop Herft is on long-service leave.