AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM
[with audio]
Michael Vincent reported this story on Saturday, July 7, 2012
ELIZABETH JACKSON: The former director of public prosecutions in New South Wales says it’s not good enough for a Catholic priest to say he didn’t have the names of sexual abuse victims and therefore didn’t make a report to the police.
Nicholas Cowdery QC says there’s no legal protection for priests who become aware of a crime and fail to report it.
He says the priests involved in the case aired on Four Corners this week, and their superiors may be in breach of the law.
Michael Vincent reports.
MICHAEL VINCENT: Back in 1992, senior Church officials, Fathers John Usher, Wayne Peters and Brian Lucas held a meeting with another priest, Father F.
A Church document written within days by Father Peters reveals Father F told them that over a period of 12 months he touched several boys’ genitals and performed oral sex on them.
Father Lucas told AM yesterday he doesn’t recall that level of detail and he didn’t go to police.
BRIAN LUCAS: Because the victims are the ones who have to go the police and report. It’s very difficult for the police to prosecute anybody without a statement from a victim; we had no name of a victim.
NICHOLAS COWDERY: I don’t think that’s a satisfactory answer at all.
MICHAEL VINCENT: Nicholas Cowdery QC was the director of public prosecutions in New South Wales for 16 years.
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