AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The priest who was second in charge of the Catholic Church in the New South Wales Hunter Valley says he told a clergy abuse victim to go to police because he wanted to stop a paedophile priest from re-offending.

The New South Wales special commission is investigating claims the church covered-up abuse by priests Denis McAlinden and James Fletcher.

Former Maitland-Newcastle vicar general monsignor Allan Hart has told the inquiry he met with a victim of McAlinden in 1993 and took her complaints to the then bishop, Leo Clarke.

Monsignor Hart said he asked the victim to tell police because he wanted to get McAlinden “off the street and stop him re-offending”.