AUSTRALIA
The Australian
DAN BOX From: The Australian July 18, 2013
A FORMER senior Catholic cleric has been questioned over the state of his memory after denying he was selective in the evidence he gave to a NSW government inquiry into child abuse committed by priests.
The former vicar-general of the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, William Burston, used the phrase “I can’t recall” or similar more than 50 times this morning in response to questions about his knowledge of this abuse.
Father Burston told the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry his memory had been affected by a series of operations under anaesthetic in recent years, although he had not consulted a doctor about this memory loss.
As a result, he said, he could not recall when he was first told about reports of abuse committed by a priest, Denis McAlinden, and which the diocese did not pass on to the police.
Giving evidence, Father Burston agreed that his memory had been quite precise on other subjects, including the dates on which a colleague had taken leave, and the names of his secretaries from around this time.
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