Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission: Father John Farrell Had "Serious Psychological Problems"

By Nicole Chettle
ABC News
September 21, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-21/royal-commission-john-farrell-was-an-odd-bod-senior-priest-says/7864042

PHOTO: Monsignor John Usher testifying before the royal commission. (Supplied: Royal Commission)

It was the practice of some clergy not to ask questions when it came to the issue of child molestation, a senior Catholic official has told the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

The Sydney hearing is examining how the dioceses at Armidale in northern New South Wales and Parramatta in Sydney's west responded to allegations made against Father John Farrell.

Appearing at the hearing, Monsignor John Usher, who spent 20 years as director of the Catholic welfare agency Centacare, said he interviewed Farrell for an hour in 1990 and found his ongoing need to spend time with children was a grave concern.

Father John Farrell 'should not have been a priest'

"I detected that he had a serious psychiatric illness," Monsignor Usher said.

He told the commission he recommended Farrell see a psychiatrist with experience in dealing with sexual offending by priests.

"I was concerned for this man, Farrell," he said.

"He was an odd bod … and you know my thinking was this man should never have been made a priest. If he keeps asking for … another appointment or whatever, a Bishop should not do that until they sort out his psychological problems."

Monsignor Usher said he was called to a meeting with Farrell, Father Wayne Peters and Father Brian Lucas around September 1992.

By then, Farrell had been stripped of his faculties as a priest.

Monsignor Usher told counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness SC: "The briefing was that Bishop Manning wants to know if Farrell should be readmitted to ministry."

Monsignor Usher: I was expecting to see a different chap to the one I'd seen two years previously.

Ms Furness: Because you'd assumed he'd been counselled or had some form of treatment?

Monsignor Usher: That's correct. What I saw was not just a man who'd improved in some way. I saw a man who was much worse.

Counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness SC, said that in 1992 Farrell told his Bishop he had committed acts against children that could see him jailed for "14 years apiece".

She said that at the time, Bishop Kevin Manning wrote that he declined to question Farrell further about this.

Counsel assisting: And that was the approach of the church wasn't it - not to ask the details of these matters 'cause the church just didn't want to know, did they Father?

Monsignor Usher: It was the practice of some personnel in the church not to ask. It was not the practice of everyone.

Counsel assisting: It may not have been, but the general approach of the church back then was not to ask questions wasn't it?

Monsignor Usher: I suppose you're right. I had a different approach ... If this had of been disclosed to us it would have been reported to police at the time.

Much of the hearing focussed around whether church officials had evidence Farrell admitted to abusing boys prior to an ABC Four Corners program in 2012, which sparked claims the church had tried to cover-up abuse. That show included references to a letter written by Father Wayne Peters in 1992, in which Farrell purportedly said he molested five boys.

Monsignor Usher said he never saw the letter prior to the television broadcast, and he believed the contents of the letter were inaccurate, because Farrell never made such admissions in the meeting he attended.

"He was trying to shock us by talking about what paedophiles do … He also talked about the fact that he'd had an affair with a woman," Monsignor Usher said.

"But he just raved on … As far as admissions go — he did not say anything as clearly as in Wayne's letter there."

He told the commission that Father Peters, who died last year, had access to confidential documents that could have provided the detail contained in his letter.

"He said 'I wanted to put the man on ice' … He wanted the man — that's Farrell, out. Out of Armidale. Out of the picture," he said.

"It does seem to me to be the sort of statement you'd make to go to any lengths to get someone out."

Church official 'naive' about extent of reports to come

Earlier, Monsignor Usher said when allegations of abuse came to his attention, he would encourage complainants to contact police.

PHOTO: John Joseph Farrell (pictured) was described at the hearing as an "odd-bod". (Fairfax Media: Barry Smith, file photo)

But he admitted he was naive to issue a media release in March 1992 in response to a program on the ABC television program Compass.

The report detailed the abuse of women and children by the clergy in the United States.

Monsignor Usher said at the time: "Australia's experience in Centacare would indicate that instances of abuse are much less frequent than suggested in the Compass Program."

He told the commission: "That's probably a bit naive … but nevertheless I said it."

"I think at that time I didn't realise the extent of the reports that would be made in Australia."

The hearing continues.