AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
Nick Butterly
Sunday, 2 July 2017
Anglican priests in Perth are demanding answers after it was revealed the Church spent almost $500,000 on legal fees to defend Archbishop Roger Herft at the royal commission into child sexual abuse.
Priests attending a retreat in Margaret River late last month were shocked after being told insurance was unlikely to cover Archbishop Herft’s legal bills as had been expected.
Instead, clergy were informed the Archbishop’s bills totalling $474,000 had already been paid by the Church’s head office without formal authorisation.
In a statement, the Anglican Diocese of Perth said it was “generally known” and reported through the budget that significant funds were being spent to support the Archbishop.
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.