Catholic Church Defrocks Priest for Having "Inappropriate Sexual Relationship" with Woman

ABC
December 8, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2016/s4588747.htm

In what's believed to be an Australian first, the Catholic Church has defrocked a priest for having a "long term inappropriate sexual relationship" with a woman.

The Church has also publicly apologised to the woman involved.

The apology is the culmination of a seven-year legal battle that Jennifer Herrick, a parishioner, has waged against the Church over her "toxic" relationship with Father Thomas Knowles.

Her civil damages claim against the Church will be formally settled in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

And Ms Herrick hopes that her victory will inspire other women who have been exploited by priests to come forward.

Lorna Knowles reports.

LORNA KNOWLES: Jennifer Herrick was a shy 19 year old with hip dysplasia which caused her to walk with an abnormal gait when she first met her local priest, Father Thomas Knowles.

A few years later, he instigated a sexual relationship with her.

JENNIFER HERRICK: I wouldn't want it to be interpreted in the sense of two people of equal standing in a mature heterosexual relationship because that's not what it was.

LORNA KNOWLES: Miss Herrick says for 14 years Father Knowles repeatedly exploited her vulnerability as a disabled and sexually naive parishioner.

She says the sex was hurried and humiliating, often in public places or in his car.

JENNIFER HERRICK: I don't believe for a minute that the hierarchy of religious orders and of the diocese have any grasp of what abuse of positional power by clerics really does to parishioners.

LORNA KNOWLES: Jennifer Herrick remained silent until 2011 when she complained to the Blessed Sacrament Father's order.

She was referred to the Church's internal Towards Healing program.

JENNIFER HERRICK: I'm not sure what it was towards, but it wasn't healing and I'm certainly not alone in that experience.

And it was due to the failure of that process that I ended up going to the civil courts, which was not something I wanted really to do or did lightly.

But the Towards Healing process is very much on Church terms, it's not an independent process, and whilst I was treated with respect, I wasn't treated with empathy or understanding.

LORNA KNOWLES: Father Knowles was initially stood down but was then reinstated.

Miss Herrick says the court process was unnecessarily drawn out.

JENNIFER HERRICK: Their conduct has been to delay, procrastinate, make things as difficult as possible, and in the end they asked to mediate.

But I found the process was an endless round of delays and just one thing after another would kind of spin it out.

LORNA KNOWLES: But this Friday her case finally comes to an end with the Church agreeing to pay her a confidential settlement.

Part of the agreement involved a public apology which was made on Sunday during a church service in Victoria.

JENNIFER HERRICK: For them to publicly recognise the pain and suffering which were the words that the provincial used in the apology - it helps me know that they are aware that it can affect someone who is over 18.

And it also hopefully will encourage other women who have been similarly affected who are over 18 to come forward and bring their stories forward and seek similar apologies from the respective diocese or orders in the Church.

LORNA KNOWLES: Miss Herrick hopes her case will raise awareness of what she believes is the widespread exploitation of vulnerable women by priests.

LORNA KNOWLES: That hopefully this will be the beginning, just like what happened with child abuse which has only really come to solid light in the last couple of decades, I'm guessing that this will be the same.

So when I'm nearing the end of my life, I might be able to look back and see that there's been a momentum of change and I can know that I was part of that instigation, but I think it's going to take a long time, I really do.

MARK COLVIN: Jennifer Herrick ending that report by Lorna Knowles.