MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Christian Daily
December 7, 2017
By Lorraine Caballero
The former Melbourne Catholic Archbishop had prioritized the interest of the church over the welfare of its clergy abuse victims and covered up the allegations by transferring offending priests to other locations, the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse has found.
In a recently released report, the Royal Commission shared how the late Archbishop Frank Little went to certain lengths to hide the sexual abuse allegations against priests under him. The investigating body made the conclusion after it heard the accusations against seven ministers in the Melbourne Archdiocese, ABC News relayed.
In addition, the commission found that Archbishop Little had transferred Father Peter Searson from the Sunbury Parish after accusations – including those of sex abuse and rape – had surfaced in the years leading to 1984. Even after he was transferred to Doveton Parish, similar complaints still followed him there.
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