AUSTRALIA
Naharnet
The Australian state of New South Wales Friday announced a special inquiry to look into claims the Catholic Church covered up for paedophile priests, silenced investigations and destroyed evidence.
The inquiry, announced by state Premier Barry O’Farrell, will examine the allegations made by a senior police investigator who outlined his charges in a letter published in the Newcastle Herald newspaper.
It followed Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox criticising the O’Farrell government on national television for its failure to probe the alleged abuse by clergy in the Hunter Valley, 170 kilometres (105 miles) north of Sydney.
“Often the church knows but does nothing other than protect the paedophile and its own reputation,” Fox, who has been investigating sexual assaults for 35 years, said in the letter.
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