AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Newcastle-Maitland
Last Thursday, November 8, 2012, The Newcastle Herald published an article entitled “Top cop attacks church – Detective’s letter alleges sex abuse cover-up”. The Herald also printed an open letter to NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell written by the same officer, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, headed “Don’t block your ears to abuse, Mr Premier”.
The article, “Top cop attacks church” begins by saying “The Catholic Church covers up the crimes of paedophile priests, silences victims and hinders police investigations, one of the Hunter’s most experienced detectives alleges in a letter to Premier Barry O’Farrell in the Newcastle Herald today,” (Newcastle Herald, Thursday November 8, 2012).
The Newcastle Herald did not offer the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle an opportunity to respond before printing such damning allegations. As comments on the present practices of this diocese, these allegations, made in the present tense, are not true.
The diocese reports all allegations of criminal conduct to the Police, whether or not the person making the complaint wishes to have contact with Police themselves. The diocese reports all complaints of reportable conduct to the Ombudsman.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.