AUSTRALIA
Perth Now
PAUL MAGUIRE AAP AUGUST 02, 2013
AFTER eight weeks of testimony casting light into humanity’s darkest corners, the emotional impact of a NSW inquiry into church abuse came down to one moment.
It happened as a nervous 37-year-old man stepped from the witness box.
Haltingly, he’d just read a 10-minute statement describing the appalling treatment he’d endured throughout his teens at the hands of Hunter Valley Catholic priest James Fletcher.
The packed gallery of Newcastle’s Supreme Court, many of them in tears, broke into spontaneous applause.
The man, who can only be identified as AH, explained how the abuse contributed to his alcoholism, his broken relationships, depression, business failures and a suicide attempt.
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