AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Timothy McDonald
The survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have renewed their call for a Royal Commission after the police in Newcastle charged a former priest with covering up abuse.
Retired Newcastle Catholic priest, Thomas Brennan, has been accused of sexually assaulting a child in the 1980s, and charged with failing to report sexual abuse by defrocked priest John Sidney Denham in the 1970s.
It is believed to be the first time a priest has been charged over an alleged cover-up, and survivors and advocates are hopeful that it might set a precedent.
Bob O’Toole is from the Clergy Abused Network, which helps victims in the Hunter Region.
“I think it’s a good thing,” he said.
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