PERTH (AUSTRALIA)
The West Australian
December 7, 2017
By Nick Butterly
Victims of abuse by priests say former Perth Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft should face criminal charges for failing to report suspected criminal clergy to police.
Abuse survivors are also calling for Archbishop Herft to be defrocked and to hand back his Order of Australia, saying the saga has caused immeasurable pain to victims.
A report from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which investigated the Anglican Church’s diocese of Newcastle detailed how systemic issues inside the Church allowed a group of perpetrators to operate for at least 30 years.
The report noted seven clergy and others associated with the Newcastle diocese had been convicted of child-sex offences. Father Peter Rushton, who has since died, is accepted by the church to have been a notorious abuser, but he was never charged.
The royal commission heard horrific testimony from victims of how they were taken on camps as children by Father Rushton, then chased through the bush and raped.
It was told Archbishop Herft was made aware of allegations Father Rushton had sexually abused boys in 2002 and again in 2003, but no action was taken.
Perth-based victims group Survivors and Friends, which deals mostly with cases in the Anglican Church, said the Anglican diocese of Perth needed to review any abuse cases that fell under the time Archbishop Herft led the Church.
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