AUSTRALIA
The Courier
By Melissa Cunningham
Dec. 8, 2015
A WIDESPREAD conspiracy to conceal child sex abuse by a disgraced priest was orchestrated by leaders of the Catholic Church and Victoria police, an inquiry has heard.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard Former Victorian police chief Reg Jackson was the “architect” of a secret plot to conceal child sex abuse by notorious paedophile Monsignor John Day.
Former Mildura detective Denis Ryan, 83, told the inquiry how his investigation into numerous child sex abuse allegations against Day was thwarted by senior police officers in the early 1970s.
He said the men were actively working for the church and against officers investigating rogue priests.
Mr Ryan told the inquiry the police officers were known as the “Catholic Mafia.”
A group of men who concealed crimes, tipped off offending priests and allowed them to continue to sexually abuse children in a disturbingly misguided attempt to protect the Catholic Church.
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.