AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
October 13, 2014
Paul Bibby
Court Reporter
NSW Police Force officers may have “condoned” and even “encouraged” the cover-up of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church, the Police Integrity Commission has heard.
The allegations emerged on the first day of the commission’s hearing into the involvement of police officers in the Professional Standards Resource Group (PSRG), set up by the Catholic Church as part of Towards Healing, its response to child sex abuse within the church.
In her opening address, counsel assisting the commission, Kristina Stern, SC, said the group had been set up in 1997, was responsible for dealing with complaints of child abuse within the church, and involved the participation of police at regular meetings.
One of these officers was Elizabeth Cullen, now an inspector, who was part of the group from 1999 to 2005.
Ms Stern said there were several issues with the processes of dealing with complaints within the group.
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