AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
December 18, 2017
By Sarah Gerathy
A Catholic bishop has taken the unusual step of warning his parishioners of the impending release of a paedophile priest and imposing additional restrictions on him.
Finian Egan is due to be released from Long Bay Prison on parole tomorrow after serving four years of an eight-year sentence for the rape and abuse of young girls over three decades on the NSW Central Coast and in Sydney.
The Bishop of Broken Bay, Peter Comensoli, wrote to parishioners in his diocese in the wake of last week’s royal commission report into institutional responses to child abuse.
“The pain and complexity of the matters detailed in the royal commission have reached deeply into our lives in many different ways,” Bishop Comensoli wrote.
“I want to acknowledge one local situation which will enter a new phase this week. On Tuesday … Finian Egan, formerly a priest of the Diocese of Broken Bay, is to be released on parole.”
“This development will occasion different reactions and emotions for many of you, even distress, especially for those who may have known Finian, and most particularly for those who have been offended against and hurt by him.”
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