AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites
By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 22 September 2014)
At last, in September 2014, a victim (John Parmeter) has spoken publicly about how he was sexually abused for years by a prominent Australian priest, Father Peter Brock, beginning at the age of nine in 1968. The Catholic Church culture of silence blocked John from complaining until 2007 when he was aged nearly 50 and, by then, the church’s cover-up had damaged John’s life. In 2008 John received a written apology from the priest and later a financial settlement from the church. But the church authorities still praised Father Brock and elevated him to a prominent national role, thereby making John Parmeter feel abused again by the continuing cover-up. John’s public statement in September 2014 exposes the church’s cover-up, thereby helping other victims.
Broken Rites has researched Father Peter Julian Brock. Born on 18 Sept 1945, he was ordained as a priest, in the late 1960s, for the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, north of Sydney. Maitland-Newcastle, with about 40 parishes, is one of the eleven Catholic dioceses in the state of New South Wales.
Early in his ministry, Father Brock started taking an interest in nine-year-old John Parmeter and John’s twin brother. He befriended the twins’ father and mother and became a regular visitor to their house, where he would drink alcohol and play cards. As “loyal Catholics”, the Parmeter family automatically trusted this priest.
Father Brock, who had musical expertise, arranged to give the twins some musical tuition at his parish house, the presbytery.
John Parmeter says that, from the outset, Brock’s behaviour was physical (with hugs) and it gradually became increasingly sexual. By the time the twins were 13 (in 1972), Brock’s offences had become serious child-abuse crimes. But, because his family was “so Catholic”, John realised that he would not be able to say anything negative to his parents about this Catholic priest. John says that he had to suffer the sexual abuse (and the church’s culture of cover-up) in silence.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.