AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
By Sophie Tarr, AAP
Updated June 11, 2013
Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson will be among witnesses grilled behind closed doors as an inquiry into the handling of allegations of child sex abuse by Hunter Valley priests enters its second phase.
The special commission of inquiry began in Newcastle last month and is focusing on how police and church officials handled sex abuse allegations, particularly those involving serial sex offender Father Denis McAlinden and convicted pedophile Father James Fletcher, who are both dead.
The first stage of the inquiry, which examined whether local Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox had been asked to stop investigating abuse, is expected to wrap up with a final week of public hearings later this month.
Witnesses for the second phase of the inquiry, examining whether Catholic Church officials helped or hindered police investigations, were unveiled on Tuesday.
Public hearings into this second term of reference are slated to begin on July 1.
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