AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By David Marchese
The Anglican bishop of Newcastle, Greg Thompson, has told a royal commission a priest said in the 1970s he would “get ahead” in the church if he offered sexual favours.
Bishop Thompson was the final witness of the child abuse royal commission’s hearing into Newcastle’s Anglican diocese that is investigating widespread abuse carried out over decades.
The current bishop began his evidence by outlining his childhood, breaking down at times when he recalled being sexually abused by two male boarders staying at his home in his early teens.
Bishop Thompson explained how he got to know a priest, Eric Barker, in Newcastle in the 1970s who began to assault him when he was 19.
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.