AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Dan Cox
A former Catholic bishop from the New South Wales Hunter Valley concedes he tried to protect the church’s reputation by playing down allegations of abuse by priests.
Former Maitland-Newcastle bishop Michael Malone has told the special commission of inquiry he was “coming to terms” with clergy sexual abuse allegations after taking on the top job in 1995.
The inquiry is examining Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox’s claims that the church covered up abuse by two paedophile priests, James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.
In giving evidence today, Bishop Malone said he was “caught up in the ethos of the church” and “there’s a tendency naturally to defend the organisation to which you belong”.
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