AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
December 10, 2015
Jane Lee
Only bishops could refer child abuse allegations they discussed within a Catholic Church committee to the police, despite the fact one of its members was a police officer, a royal commission has heard.
Monsignor Glynn Murphy helped establish the church’s Special Issues Committee in the 1990s, initially to help survivors of convicted paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. The committee also advised Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns on child sexual abuse and other issues. The committee members included police officer Paul Murnane, a retired magistrate and another priest who was a clinical psychologist.
Monsignor Murphy told the child abuse royal commission on Thursday that he advised Bishop Mulkearns in 1991 that Father Paul Ryan be “removed immediately and indefinitely pending any investigation” after he heard allegations that the priest had invited a 12-year-old boy to have a bath with him. The boy’s mother did not want to report the allegations to police, as she was worried this would subject him to bullying.
Bishop Mulkearns delayed removing Father Ryan for a number of weeks to keep up appearances, the commission heard, writing in a letter: “It was agreed that (Ryan) would remain there until after Easter when other diocesan changes were to be made so that his change would not be seen as completely out of the ordinary.”
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