AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A Catholic order that provided services for children with intellectual disabilities has denied it was infiltrated by predatory paedophiles.

The St John of God Brothers are the first of the Catholic orders to give evidence at the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Child abuse.

The inquiry first heard this morning that 15 of 60 St John of God Brothers had complaints made against them in Victoria since the 1940s.

Brother Tim Graham says he has been horrified by the allegations and acknowledges there has been a systemic failure of scrutiny and accountability.