AUSTRALIA
The Guardian
Associated Australian Press
Friday 22 May 2015
Australia’s most notorious paedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale admitted he was out of control and “went haywire” in the Victorian town of Mortlake where he was believed to have abused every boy in school.
A series of letters and documents published by the royal commission into sexual abuse website reveal details of Ridsdale’s abuse and the response from the Catholic church, including Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns.
Ridsdale has been convicted for abusing more than 50 children over three decades, dating back to his ordination in 1961.
After parents complained to then Ballarat Bishop James O’Collins about Ridsdale in 1961, O’Collins told him: “If this thing happens again then you’re off to the Missions” and sent him to Mildura.
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