BishopAccountability.org

Abuse Royal Commission: Bishop Bede Heather destroyed abuse papers

The Australian
September 15, 2016

https://goo.gl/DsJ7mY

Bishop Bede Heather in 1996.

A Catholic bishop has admitted destroying documents relating to child sexual abuse by priests after police raided his office.

Giving evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Bishop Bede Heather said he was “traumatised” when police investigating sexual allegations against three priests searched his office in the western Sydney diocese of Parramatta in 1994.

Before this, “I did not see myself as bound to take these complaints to the police,” Bishop Heather told the commission.

Following the police raid “I took the precaution of destroying all papers of mine which could have been to the disadvantage of persons with whom I dealt,” Bishop Bede wrote in a letter to the diocese’s lawyers.

That letter was provided to the commission by the law firm, Makinson & d’Apice, as Bishop Bede’s copy of the letter was also destroyed, the commission heard.

Among those documents he destroyed were details of child abuse complaints made against another priest who had recently been convicted, which Bishop Heather had provided to the church’s insurance company, he said.

“We didn’t go through a shredding process in the diocese, but following the carrying out of the (search) warrant, I did become nervous about the diocesan files,” Bishop Heather told the commission.

Under examination by commission chair, Peter McClellan, the bishop accepted he destroyed some documents dating from before the police raid, and some that detailed criminal allegations made against priests.

“It’s plain that that was one of the matters that you were concerned not to have a record of isn’t it?” Justice McClellan asked.

“I accept your assessment, your honour,” Bishop Heather replied.




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