Vatican Told Whistleblower Priest to Be a Hostile Witness: Friend
By Harriet Alexander
The conversation turned to his disillusionment with the church over its handling of sexual abuse claims and Father Walsh told Mr Hay that he had met with the Pope about the upcoming trial of Archbishop Philip Wilson, in which he was due to testify for the prosecution. "He didn't name anyone in particular, but he said the expectation from Rome was, they didn't ask him but they said, 'You will be a hostile witness'," Mr Hay said. "He was a really devoted servant of the Catholic Church and it was heartbreaking." There are mounting calls for an investigation into Father Walsh's death. Father Walsh was told shortly before his death that the diocese clergy would never accept him after the way he had exposed them, and he could be found a new post somewhere in the third world, according to a new book The Altar Boys. Archbishop Wilson was found guilty at the trial but cleared on appeal. There is no suggestion he made any attempt to apply pressure on Father Walsh ahead of the trial. The book's author Suzanne Smith said the circumstances surrounding Father Walsh's death should be referred to police. "There are so many questions about the last two years of Father Glen Walsh's life when he was a crown prosecution witness and it does demand a police investigation," Smith said. Greens MP David Shoebridge has written to Attorney-General Mark Speakman and the NSW Coroner seeking an inquest into 71 deaths of men educated at Catholic institutions in the Hunter-Maitland diocese. The list, which was compiled by the Clergy Abused Network, included the names of men who died of suicide, drug overdoses or misadventure and there was compelling evidence that they had been abused. Mr Shoebridge said special consideration should be given to the case of Father Walsh. "This pattern of conduct directed against Father Walsh is distressing and, seen together, highly disturbing," Mr Shoebridge’s letter said. "There is a very real likelihood that taken together it had a material impact on Father Walsh’s decision to take his life." Father Walsh came under intense pressure from the church after reporting to police that two boys in his parish had been sexually abused by a fellow priest, rather than informing the bishop. He told Mr Hay that after he made the report, the church changed the locks on his house and he had to sleep in his car. "They were basically punishing him for going to the police and not going through the proper channels," Mr Hay said. "He said, 'You put your hands together when you become a priest and they [the bishops] put theirs over you forever'." Father Walsh also told Mr Hay that more recently two priests had walked past his house on their way to visit a friend in the neighbourhood, and seeing him on the porch one had said to the other: "Wouldn't you like to have a loaded rifle about now?" Mr Hay's description of antipathy directed at Father Walsh by the clergy is supported by an email Father Walsh wrote to Cardinal George Pell years earlier in 2011, which expressed disappointment about the way he had been treated by fellow priests including the cardinal. According to the letter, which was obtained by Smith but not published in the book, the last time Cardinal Pell had met Father Walsh he had said: "Glen, you were a disaster at Rockdale and you were an accident waiting to happen at Caringbah!" ? Support is available for those who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636
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