Former Newcastle Anglican Bishop Roger Herft Was "Weak, Ineffectual" on Child Sexual Abuse: Submission

By Joanne McCarthy
Newcastle Herald
April 6, 2017

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4580355/bishop-roger-herfts-failure-of-leadership/

FORMER Newcastle Anglican Bishop Roger Herft’s response to child sexual abuse allegations was “weak, ineffectual and showed no regard for the need to protect children from the risk that they would be preyed upon,” counsel assisting the royal commission has found in a final submission.

“It was a failure of leadership,” said counsel assisting Naomi Sharp, in a 276-page submission released on Thursday.

Ms Sharp named defrocked former Dean of Newcastle, Graeme Lawrence, business manager Peter Mitchell, diocese solicitor and trustee Keith Allen and diocesan deputy chancellor Paul Rosser, QC, as part of a “network of long term diocesan ‘insiders’” during Bishop Herft’s tenure from 1993 to 2005.

They “worked together to frustrate efforts by other leaders, including the bishop, to deal with the sexual abuse of children by priests and others within the diocese”, Ms Sharp said.

Bishop Herft, who went on to become Archbishop of Perth, “mishandled the allegations of child sexual abuse made against two of the most senior and domineering priests in the diocese”, Mr Lawrence and Archdeacon of Maitland, Peter Rushton.

Bishop Herft’s response to those allegations was “weak, ineffectual, and showed no regard for the need to protect children from the risk that they would be preyed upon”, Ms Sharp said.

During Bishop Herft’s tenure there was a network of long term Diocesan ‘insiders’ – the Dean Graeme Lawrence, Peter Mitchell, Keith Allen and Paul Rosser QC – who worked together to frustrate efforts by other leaders, including the Bishop, to deal with the sexual abuse of children by priests and others within the Diocese.

- Counsel assisting the royal commission, Naomi Sharp

While there were significant developments in policies for handling sexual abuse allegations during Bishop Herft’s time, no member of the clergy was formally disciplined after child sex allegations were made; if priests moved to another diocese there were no warnings made by Newcastle Anglicans and survivors were not offered pastoral care and support.

Ms Sharp found that child sex allegations against clergy were “routinely not reported to the NSW Police”.

“While Bishop Herft gave evidence that it was always the policy of the diocese to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police, this policy was fettered in many respects. Bishop Herft considered it was only necessary to report such allegations to the police where the complaints were identified by name, where there was a complaint in writing and where the complaint had some ‘substance’,” Ms Sharp found.

It was “remiss” of Bishop Herft to not make Bishop Farran aware that Mr Lawrence and Rushton, who had been two of the most senior priests in the Diocese, had both been accused of sexually abusing children, Ms Sharp found.

After evidence to the royal commission in August about the extent of child sexual abuse in Newcastle Anglican diocese, Ms Sharp said Reverend Dyer first raised his concerns about allegations that Rushton had sexually abused boys with professional standards director Michael Elliott in mid-2009 and with Bishop Brian Farran by late 2009 at the latest.

Ms Sharp said investigations initiated by Mr Elliott about offences by Peter Rushton included questions on Bishop Farran’s behalf to Bishop Herft, and former Newcastle Anglican bishops Alfred Holland and Richard Appleby.

“Bishop Holland implied to Bishop Farran that he had no prior knowledge of allegations that Rushton had sexually abused children. This representation was not correct,” Ms Sharp found.

“Bishop Appleby implied to Bishop Farran that he had no prior knowledge of allegations that Rushton had sexually abused children. This representation was not correct. Bishop Herft implied to Bishop Farran that he had no prior knowledge of allegations that Rushton had sexually abused children. This representation was not correct.”

Archbishop Herft became the most senior Australian clerical casualty of the royal commission by resigning in December after admitting he had let child sexual assault victims down.